Virulence factors released from Porphyromonas gingivalis induce electrophysiological dysfunction in human pluripotent stem cell-derived cardiomyocytes

• Main Authors: Soon Chul Heo (Author), Ye Seul Kim (Author), Yu Na Kim (Author), Jae Ho Kim (Author), Hyung Joon Kim (Author)
• Format: Book
• Published: Elsevier, 2022-10-01T00:00:00Z.
• Subjects: article
• Online Access: Connect to this object online.
• Notes: 1991-7902; 10.1016/j.jds.2022.04.013
• Keywords: Cardiac arrhythmia; Cardiomyocyte; Periodontal disease; Porphyromonas gingivalis; Dentistry; RK1-715
• Source: Journal of Dental Sciences, Vol 17, Iss 4, Pp 1559-1565 (2022)

Background/purpose: Periodontal disease development correlates with the occurrence of systemic diseases. The present study investigated the association between periodontal disease and the development of cardiac arrhythmia. Materials and methods: Human embryonic stem cell-derived cardiomyocytes (hESC-CMs) were treated with Porphyromonas gingivalis (Pg). Cardiotoxicity and electrophysiological properties of hESC-CMs were measured using the cell counting kit-8 assay and a multi-electrode array, respectively. Reverse-transcription-quantitative polymerase chain reaction (RT-qPCR) revealed the mRNA expression of S100 calcium binding protein A1 (S100A1), calsequestrin 2 (CASQ2), troponin I3 (TNNI3), myosin light chain 2 (MYL2), integrin subunit beta 1 (ITGB1), and cadherin 2 (CDH2) in hESC-CMs. Results: Treatment with Pg broth significantly decreased the beat period, field potential duration, spike amplitude, and conduction velocity without affecting the viability of hESC-CMs. In addition, the mRNA expression of CASQ2, TNNI3, and MYL2, which are all associated with calcium handling, were downregulated by Pg broth treatment. Conclusion: These findings indicate that Pg may induce cardiac arrhythmia mediated by virulence factors.