Screening for Selenomonas Noxia and Akkermansia Muciniphila from the Oral Cavity of Pediatric Patients

Introduction: The human digestive tract is composed of an immense variety of microorganisms, which have been linked to many health problems such as obesity. There are many studies that demonstrate the association of cariogenic pathogens in dental patients and overall health. Selenomonas noxia, a gram negative anaerobe that is unable to metabolize sucrose and Akkermansia muciniphila, a gram negative anaerobe known to metabolize fats are two examples of pathogens that play a role in overall health.

Objectives: Few studies have investigated both Selenomonas noxia (SN) and Akkermansia muciniphila (AM) with the same patient samples. The objective of this study was to analyze and evaluate the prevalence of both these organisms in a dental school-based setting.

Methods: Saliva was collected from pediatric patients using an IRB-approved protocol. DNA was isolated for PCR screening and quality tested using the nanodrop. Gel electrophoresis was used for visualization. Forty seven (n=47) patients ranging from five to fifteen years of age (average 10.3) were screened. Nearly two-thirds of patients were male (64.6%) with the vast majority identified as Hispanic (72.9%) or other minority (25.0%)

Results: DNA was successfully isolated with an overall average DNA concentration of 1.43 ug/uL and overall purity (A260:A80 ratio) of 1.88. Of the forty seven patients, four patients were positive for SN. There was no presence of AM in the samples.

Conclusions: Research regarding AM and SN may suggest they inhabit different niches in the microbial community. The preliminary data of this pilot study suggests that SN could be found in pediatric patients while AM is not likely prevalent. However, due to the small patient sample size and large differences observed from these samples further research and analysis would need to be conducted to validate the findings.