Smoking induced salivary microbiome dysbiosis and is correlated with lipid biomarkers.

BACKGROUND: The oral microbiome plays an essential role in maintaining oral homeostasis and health; smoking significantly affects it, leading to microbial dysbiosis. The study aims to investigate changes in the oral microbiome composition of smokers in the Qatari population and establish a correlation with lipid biomarkers. METHODS: The oral microbiota was profiled from saliva samples of 200 smokers and 100 non-smokers in the Qatari population, and 16s rRNA V3-V4 region were sequenced using the Illumina MiSeq platform. The operational taxonomic units (OTUs) were clustered using QIIME and the statistical analysis was performed by R. RESULTS: Non-smokers exhibited a more diverse microbiome, with significant alpha and beta diversity differences between the non-smoker and smoker groups. Smokers had a higher abundance of Firmicutes, Bacteroidota, Actinobacteriota, Patescibacteria, and Proteobacteria at the phylum level and of Streptococcus, Prevotella, Veillonella, TM7x, and Porphyromonas at the genus level. In contrast, non-smokers had more Bacteroidota, Firmicutes, Proteobacteria, Fusobacteriota, and Patescibacteria at the phylum level, and Prevotella, Streptococcus, Veillonella, Porphromonas, and Neisseria at the genus level. Notably, Streptococcus was significantly positively correlated with LDL and negatively correlated with HDL. Additionally, Streptococcus salivarius, within the genus Streptococcus, was substantially more abundant in smokers. CONCLUSION: This study highlights the significant influence of smoking on the composition of the oral microbiome by enriching anaerobic microbes and depleting aerobic microbes. Moreover, the observed correlation between Streptococcus abundance and the lipid biomarkers suggests a potential link between smokers-induced salivary microbiome dysbiosis and lipid metabolism. Understanding the impact of smoking on altering the oral microbiome composition and its correlation with chemistry tests is essential for developing targeted interventions and strategies to improve oral health and reduce the risk of diseases.

Exploring the role of oral microbiome dysbiosis in cardiometabolic syndrome and smoking.

Oral microbiome research has gained significant interest in recent years due to its potential impact on overall health. Smoking has been identified as a significant modulator of the oral microbiome composition, leading to dysbiosis and possible health consequences. Research has primarily focused on the association between smoking and oral microbiome, as well as smoking's association with cardiometabolic syndrome (CMS). This narrative review presents an overview of the recent findings and current knowledge on the oral microbiome and its role in CMS, including the effects of smoking and ethnicity. We discussed the development and composition of the oral microbiome and the association of periodontitis with diabetes and cardiovascular diseases. Furthermore, we highlighted the correlations between oral microbiome and CMS factors, such as diabetes, hypertension, dyslipidemia, and obesity. There is a need for further research in this area to better understand the mechanisms underlying the impact of smoking on oral microbiome dysbiosis and the development of CMS. Interestingly, geographic location and ethnicity have been shown to impact the oral microbiome profiles across populations. This knowledge will help develop personalized disease prevention and treatment approaches considering individual differences in oral microbiome composition. Understanding the complex interplay between oral microbiome, smoking, and CMS is essential for developing effective prevention and treatment strategies for a wide range of diseases.

Performance evaluation of four type-specific commercial assays for detection of herpes simplex virus type 1 antibodies in a Middle East and North Africa population.

BACKGROUND: The number of diagnostic assays for the detection of herpes simplex virus type 1 (HSV-1) antibodies has increased over the years. However, their performance characteristics could vary among global populations. OBJECTIVE: To investigate performance of two commercial ELISA kits, HerpeSelect® 1 ELISA and Euroimmun Anti-HSV-1 (gC1) ELISA (IgG); and two commercial immunoblot (IB)/Western blot (WB) assays, HerpeSelect® 1 and 2 Immunoblot IgG, and Euroimmun Anti-HSV-1/HSV-2 gG2 Euroline-WB (IgG/IgM); in detecting HSV-1 antibodies in a Middle East and North Africa (MENA) population. STUDY DESIGN: Blood specimens were collected from blood donors in Doha, Qatar, June 2013-2016. Twenty specimens were randomly selected from 10 MENA nationalities (Egypt, Iran, Jordan, Lebanon, Pakistan, Palestine, Qatar, Sudan, Syria, and Yemen; total = 200), and tested for HSV-1 antibodies. RESULTS: Across all six comparisons between assays, positive percent agreement ranged between 95.7% (95% CI: 91.4-98.3%) and 100.0% (95% CI: 97.8-100.0%). Negative percent agreement ranged between 86.2% (95% CI: 68.3-96.1%) and 96.2% (95% CI: 80.4-99.9%). Overall percent agreement ranged between 95.7% (95% CI: 91.7-97.8%) and 99.4% (95% CI: 96.7-99.9%). Cohen's kappa statistic ranged between 0.84 (95% CI: 0.73-0.95) and 0.98 (95% CI: 0.93-1.00). Compared against IB/WB, HerpeSelect® and Euroimmun had sensitivities and specificities >96% and >86%, respectively. Positive and negative predictive values were >97% and >83%, respectively. CONCLUSION: The assays showed excellent concordance with one another, and with a high kappa statistic. The ELISA kits demonstrated robust diagnostic performance compared to the IB/WB assays. These findings support the assays' utility in clinical diagnosis and research in MENA populations.

Herpes Simplex Virus Type 2 Seroprevalence Among Different National Populations of Middle East and North African Men.

BACKGROUND: There are limited data on herpes simplex virus type 2 (HSV-2) seroprevalence in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA). We examined country- and age-specific HSV-2 seroprevalence among select MENA populations residing in Qatar. METHODS: Sera were collected from male blood donors attending Hamad Medical Corporation between June 2013 and June 2016. Specimens were screened for anti-HSV-2 IgG antibodies following a 2-test algorithm: HerpeSelect 2 ELISA was used to identify HSV-2-positive specimens, and Euroline-WB was used to confirm positive and equivocal specimens for final HSV-2 status. Trends and associations with HSV-2 seropositivity were assessed. RESULTS: Of the 2077 tested sera, 61 were found and confirmed positive. The proportion of those confirmed positive increased steadily with HerpeSelect 2 ELISA index value, ranging from 16.3% for index values of 1.101 to 1.999 to 92.9% for index values of 4 or greater. Nationality-specific seroprevalence was 6.0% (95% confidence interval [CI], 4.1%-8.8%) in Qataris, 5.3% (95% CI, 2.5%-11.1%) in Iranians, 4.2% (95% CI, 1.8%-9.5%) in Lebanese, 3.1% (95% CI, 1.2%-7.7%) in Sudanese, 3.0% (95% CI, 1.4%-6.4%) in Palestinians, 2.2% (95% CI, 1.1%-4.3%) in Egyptians, 2.0% (95% CI, 1.0%-5.0%) in Syrians, 1.0% (95% CI, 0.3%-3.6%) in Jordanians, 0.7% (95% CI, 0.1%-3.7%) in Yemenis, and 0.5% (95% CI, 0.1%-2.8%) in Pakistanis. There was evidence for higher seroprevalence in older age groups. CONCLUSIONS: The seroprevalence of HSV-2 was in the range of few percentage points. There were no major differences in seroprevalence by nationality. These findings add to our understanding of HSV-2 epidemiology in MENA and indicate unmet needs for sexual health and control of sexually transmitted infections.

Estimating seroprevalence of herpes simplex virus type 1 among different Middle East and North African male populations residing in Qatar.

HSV-1 epidemiology in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) remains poorly understood. Our study aimed to measure HSV-1 antibody prevalence (seroprevalence) and its age-distribution among select MENA populations residing in Qatar. Sera were collected from male blood donors attending Hamad Medical Corporation 2013-2015. A total of 2,077 sera were tested for anti-HSV-1 antibodies using HerpeSelect® 1 ELISA IgG kits (Focus Diagnostics, Cypress, CA). Robust Poisson regression was conducted to estimate adjusted infection prevalence ratios. Country-specific HSV-1 seroprevalence was estimated for 10 national populations: 97.5% among Egyptians, 92.6% among Yemenis, 90.7% among Sudanese, 88.5% among Syrians, 86.5% among Jordanians, 82.3% among Qataris, 81.4% among Iranians, 81.4% among Lebanese, 80.5% among Palestinians, and 77.0% among Pakistanis. Age-specific HSV-1 seroprevalence was estimated for Egypt, the Fertile Crescent (Iraq, Jordan, Lebanon, Palestine, and Syria), and Qatar. Seroprevalence increased with age among Fertile Crescent and Qatari nationals. Seroprevalence increased from 70.0% among those aged ≤ 24 years up to 98.0% among those aged ≥55 years among Fertile Crescent nationals. Seroprevalence was consistently above 90% for all ages among Egyptians. HSV-1 seroprevalence is high in MENA, though with some variation across countries. The seroprevalence appears to have declined among current young age cohorts compared to its levels a few decades ago.