Human-feline oral microbiome cross-species transmission and its association with idiopathic tooth resorption.

Abstract

Tooth resorption is an uncommon condition which is irreversible and highly destructive. Once detected and diagnosed, treatment options are limited because of the destructive nature of the resorptive lesions. Unlike dental caries and periodontal disease, the etiology, including pathogenic bacteria involved, of resorptive tooth lesions is not known and the causes are possibly multifactorial. Cats are reservoirs of disease and have the potential to transmit disease directly or indirectly to humans who share or have been exposed to the same environment as the animal. One Health is the concept that human health, physical and mental health, is interconnected with animal health and the health of our environment. Based on clinical observation we speculate that contact with cats and the transmission of oral bacteria from cats to humans may be linked to tooth resorption in humans. Objective: The purpose of this study was to investigate the oral microbiome of humans with tooth resorption and compare their oral microbiome to 1. humans without resorptive lesions and 2. the oral microbiome of cats and to investigate the potential environmental factors associated with humans with tooth resorption, in particular contact with cats. Methods: oral plaque samples were collected from 10 human participants with tooth resorption and 10 matched sample controls for age and sex were collected from humans without tooth resorption. Each participant completed a questionnaire. All plaque samples were processed for taxonomic assignment through DNA extraction, PCR and sequencing. Samples were statistically analyzed through taxonomic composition, alpha diversity, beta diversity and differential abundance testing with the results being compared to the feline oral microbiome. Descriptive analysis was performed on questionnaire data. Conclusion: There is not a statistically significant difference between the oral microbiome of humans with and without tooth resorption. Humans and felines share a similar oral microbiome overall. However, there are three bacterial genera (Alysiella, Prevotella and Rothia) that appear to be in common between the human oral microbiome and the oral microbiome of felines with resorptive lesions. There is no statistically significant association between tooth resorption and contact with cats based on descriptive data.