Oral infection and adverse pregnancy outcome: Porphyromonas gingivalis outer membrane vesicles modulate the immune profile of trophoblast cells

HAUK VANESA; LARA, BRENDA; MERECH, FÁTIMA; GORI, SOLEDAD; CALO, GUILLERMINA; GLIOSCA, LAURA; FERNÁNDEZ, LAURA; VOTA, DAIANA; RAMHORST ROSANNA; PÉREZ LEIRÓS, CLAUDIA

Workshop; EMBO workshop: Bacterial membrane vesicles; 2021

Numerous studies have linked periodontal disease to adverse pregnancy outcomes but the mechanisms involved are still unclear. Porphyromonas gingivalis (Pg) is the most important pathogen of periodontal disease and it can produce outer membrane vesicles (OMVs) and release them into the environment, playing an important role in its pathogenesis. During placentation, trophoblast cells secrete cytokines and chemokines in order to interact with immune cells regulating and maintaining immune homeostasis. Alterations in this interaction may lead topregnancy complications. In this work, we analyzed the effect of Pg-OMVs on trophoblast, specialized cells of the placenta. HTR-8 trophoblast cells were treated with 10-0.1 ug/ml Pg-OMV for 2-24hs depending on the assay.OMV were previously isolated by ultracentrifugation and for uptake assays labelled with PKH26 dye. MTT assay was performed to evaluate cell viability. IL-10 and IL-1β levels in supernatants were determined by ELISA We found that Pg-OMVs were internalized by HTR-8 trophoblast cells in a time and concentration dependent manner without affecting cell viability. Inhibition of actin polymerization by cytochalasin D reduced the uptake of PgOMVs. Pg-OMV treatment induced an increase in the secretion of IL-10 (16.1± 6.0 pg/ml basal vs. 69.0±25.8 pg/ml Pg-OMV treated cells *P