Periodontal diseases and non-alcoholic fatty liver disease

Abstract

Relevance. Periodontal diseases, being an extremely common, do not only cause tooth loss and significantly affect the patients’ quality of life, but are also a risk factor for many systemic diseases and may subsequently aggravate their course. Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is one of the relatively understudied pathologies associated with periodontal diseases.Materials and methods. A non-interventional study analytically reviewed Russian and international scientific publications, which presented the results of independent clinical and laboratory studies on the topic from 2011 to 2021.Results. Scientific literature data evidence that NAFLD manifests by impaired lipid metabolism in liver cells, linked with mechanisms regulated by the liver nuclear receptors (LXR), and leads to such life-threatening conditions as liver cirrhosis and hepatocellular carcinoma. The information on the role of periodontal pathogens in NAFLD development has been accumulated by now. The example of such principal periodontal pathogen as Porphyromonas gingivalis experimentally demonstrated that it can integrate into the intestinal microbiome, migrate through the bloodstream to the liver, survive in hepatocytes and influence the nuclear receptors of these cells affecting the lipid metabolism and contributing to NAFLD development.Conclusion. A detailed study of the link between periodontal disease and non-alcoholic fatty liver disease may contribute to the development of new effective strategies for the diagnosis and treatment of these pathological conditions.