Intra-Tissue Bacteriome and Cellular Profiles in Periodontal Granulation Tissue From Osseous Defects and Extraction Sockets.

AIM: To investigate the intra-tissue bacteriome and cell profiles within periodontal granulation tissue (PGT) for exploring the biological essence and translational potentials.

MATERIALS AND

METHODS

PGT samples were collected from 49 patients with severe periodontitis-including those from osseous defects (GT) during periodontal surgery, extraction sockets (ST) and extracted root surfaces (RT) during tooth extraction-while the excised pocket wall (PT) from surgical sites served as the control for diseased tissues. These samples underwent 16S rRNA sequencing, single-cell sequencing and histological assessment.

RESULTS

GT and PT exhibited periodontal health-associated, commensal-enriched bacteriome profiles, while RT and ST showed worse local periodontal condition, enriched periodontopathogens but depleted commensals. Notably, GT contained a higher proportion of mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) and fibroblasts while fewer natural killer cells than in PT and ST. Pseudotime trajectory analysis revealed endothelial and epithelial differentiation fates from mesenchymal progenitors across tissues. Moreover, there were less inflammatory infiltration and immunoreactivity of CD4+ and NKG2D+ in GT than in PT and ST.

CONCLUSIONS

Our findings suggest potential periodontal health-associated features of GT regarding clinical, bacteriome and cellular attributes. Future translational study is warranted to explore GT as an alternative source of MSCs for periodontal regeneration.