eprintid: 10188471 rev_number: 6 eprint_status: archive userid: 699 dir: disk0/10/18/84/71 datestamp: 2024-03-06 12:48:21 lastmod: 2024-03-06 12:48:21 status_changed: 2024-03-06 12:48:21 type: article metadata_visibility: show sword_depositor: 699 creators_name: Koller, Garrit creators_name: Foschi, Federico creators_name: Mitchell, Philip creators_name: Witherden, Elizabeth creators_name: Bruce, Kenneth creators_name: Mannocci, Francesco title: Amoebae in Chronic, Polymicrobial Endodontic Infections Are Associated with Altered Microbial Communities of Increased Virulence ispublished: pub divisions: UCL divisions: B02 divisions: C10 divisions: D21 divisions: H09 keywords: amoeba-resistant bacteria, bacterial fitness, endodontics, infection, microbial ecology, microbiology, polymicrobial infection note: © 2020 by the Authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). abstract: BACKGROUND: Infections of the root canal space involve polymicrobial biofilms and lead to chronic, low grade inflammatory responses arising from the seeding of microbes and by-products. Acute exacerbation and/or disseminating infections occur when established microbial communities undergo sudden changes in phenotypic behaviour. METHODS: Within clinical endodontic infections, we assessedcategorical determinants comprising, and changing microbial composition of, chronic polymicrobial infections and their association with amoebae. After standardised assessment, primary or secondary infections underwent sampling and DNA processing, targeting bacteria, fungi and amoebae, including 16S high-throughput sequencing. After taxonomic assignment, community composition was correlated with clinical signs and symptoms. Diversity and abundance analyses were carried out in relation to the presence of non-bacterial amplicons. RESULTS: Clinical specimens revealed two distinct community clusters, where specific changes correlated with clinical signs. An association between the compositions of microbiomes was found between these groups and the presence of Entamoeba gingivalis in 44% of cases. When amoebae were present in endodontic infections, we demonstrate changes in microbial community structure that mirror those observed in treatment-resistant or recurrent infections. CONCLUSIONS: Amoeba are present in endodontic infections at a high prevalence, and may promote increased virulence by enrichment for phagocytosis-resistant bacteria. date: 2020 date_type: published publisher: MDPI AG official_url: http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/jcm9113700 oa_status: green full_text_type: pub language: eng primo: open primo_central: open_green verified: verified_manual elements_id: 2254046 doi: 10.3390/jcm9113700 medium: Electronic pii: jcm9113700 lyricists_name: Foschi, Federico lyricists_id: FFOSC10 actors_name: Foschi, Federico actors_id: FFOSC10 actors_role: owner full_text_status: public publication: Journal of Clinical Medicine Status: volume: 9 number: 11 article_number: E3700 event_location: Switzerland citation: Koller, Garrit; Foschi, Federico; Mitchell, Philip; Witherden, Elizabeth; Bruce, Kenneth; Mannocci, Francesco; (2020) Amoebae in Chronic, Polymicrobial Endodontic Infections Are Associated with Altered Microbial Communities of Increased Virulence. Journal of Clinical Medicine Status: , 9 (11) , Article E3700. 10.3390/jcm9113700 <https://doi.org/10.3390/jcm9113700>. Green open access document_url: https://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/10188471/1/Amoebae%20in%20Chronic%2C%20Polymicrobial%20Endodontic%20Infections%20Are%20Associated%20with%20Altered%20Microbial%20Communities%20of%20Increased%20Virul.pdf