Innate inflammatory responses of human decidual cells to periodontopathic bacteria

OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study was to test the hypothesis that periodontopathic bacteria exert potent proinflammatory effects in human decidua. STUDY DESIGN: The immunostimulatory effects of Gram-positive and negative periodontopathic bacteria and their lipopolysaccharides were tested in human decidual cell cultures in comparison with Escherichia coli. Cytokine production was measured by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay; inflammatory gene expression was measured by oligonucleotide arrays and quantitative real time-polymerase chain reaction. RESULTS: All bacteria that were tested elicited an inflammatory response, although concentration-dependence and efficacy varied considerably with organism and culture. Lipopolysaccharides were more potent stimuli than intact bacterial cells, although bacteria exerted greater effects at high concentrations. Of 112 genes on the arrays, 18 genes were stimulated significantly by one or more lipopolysaccharide preparation. CONCLUSION: The ability of periodontopathic bacteria to stimulate a decidual inflammatory response is highly variable and partly dependent on the presence and structure of constituent lipopolysaccharides. This adds to our understanding of the causal association between periodontal disease and preterm birth.