Toll-Like Receptor-2 Plays a Fundamental Role in Periodontal Bacteria-Accelerated Abdominal Aortic Aneurysms

Background: Periodontopathic bacteria are detected at a high rate in specimens obtained from the aortic walls of patients with abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA) and are involved in AAA development. The purpose of this study was to clarify the role of Toll-like receptors (TLRs), which are key receptors of virulence factors of many periodontal bacteria, on periodontopathic bacteria-accelerated AAA progression. Methods and Results: AAA was produced by peri-aortic application of 0.25mol/L CaCl2, with NaCl used as a control. The mice were inoculated with live Porphyromonas (P.) gingivalis or vehicle once weekly. At 4 weeks after the application of CaCl2, the aortic diameter of the P. gingivalis-infected wild-type mice showed a significant increase in comparison with vehicle control mice (P