BackgroundSubgingival dental plaque is an ecosystem playing a key role in supporting both oral health and systemic health. Menopause‐related changes have the potential to disrupt its balance, which is crucial to postmenopausal well‐being. Our study explored how circulating estradiol levels correlate with subgingival microbial composition using checkerboard DNA‐DNA hybridization in premenopausal and postmenopausal women. We also demonstrated that combining this method with 16S ribosomal RNA (rRNA) sequencing insights remains valuable for examining subgingival ecology.MethodsWe assessed 40 bacterial species in 77 premenopausal and 81 postmenopausal women using checkerboard DNA‐DNA hybridization and measured serum estradiol with enzyme‐linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). Women were categorized by subgingival dysbiosis severity using a modified Subgingival Microbial Dysbiosis Index (mSMDI). Six women from each normobiotic and dysbiotic subgroup across premenopausal and postmenopausal women underwent 16S rRNA sequencing analysis.ResultsDNA checkerboard analysis revealed that most observed variability in individual bacterial proportions is associated with periodontitis. Two species, Leptotrichia buccalis and Streptococcus constellatus, exhibited differences related to estradiol levels within the premenopausal group (p = 0.055 and p = 0.009, respectively). 16S rRNA sequencing confirmed the mSMDI's validity in categorizing normobiotic and dysbiotic states. Menopausal status was not associated with a dysbiotic shift in the subgingival microbiome despite significantly more attachment loss in postmenopausal compared to premenopausal women.ConclusionsOur results indicate that decreased estradiol levels or increased attachment loss during menopause are not associated with changes in species abundance or dysbiotic shifts in women. The mSMDI may be a useful tool for classifying subgingival ecology based on its normobiotic or dysbiotic inclination.

中文翻译：

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绝经前和绝经后妇女的龈下微生物特征：与血清雌二醇水平的关联


背景龈下牙菌斑是一个生态系统，在支持口腔健康和全身健康方面发挥着关键作用。与更年期相关的变化有可能破坏其平衡，这对绝经后的健康至关重要。我们的研究采用棋盘 DNA-DNA 杂交技术，探讨了绝经前和绝经后女性循环雌二醇水平与龈下微生物组成的关系。我们还证明，将该方法与 16S 核糖体 RNA (rRNA) 测序相结合对于检查龈下生态仍然很有价值。方法我们使用棋盘 DNA-DNA 杂交评估了 77 名绝经前和 81 名绝经后女性的 40 种细菌，并使用酶联免疫吸附剂测量了血清雌二醇测定（ELISA）。使用改良的龈下微生物失调指数（mSMDI）根据龈下微生物失调的严重程度对女性进行分类。来自绝经前和绝经后女性每个正常生物和生态失调亚组的六名女性接受了 16S rRNA 测序分析。结果 DNA 棋盘分析显示，大多数观察到的个体细菌比例变异与牙周炎有关。颊纤毛菌和星座链球菌这两个物种在绝经前组中表现出与雌二醇水平相关的差异（ p = 0.055 和p = 0.009，分别）。 16S rRNA 测序证实了 mSMDI 在正常生物和生物失调状态分类方面的有效性。尽管与绝经前女性相比，绝经后女性的附着丧失明显更多，但绝经状态与龈下微生物群的生态失调变化无关。结论我们的结果表明，绝经期间雌二醇水平下降或依恋丧失增加与女性物种丰度的变化或生态失调的转变无关。 mSMDI 可能是根据正常生物或生物失调倾向对龈下生态进行分类的有用工具。