Immune memory cells that may cause gum disease to come back
Official title: The Role of CD4+ Memory T cell Subtypes in Periodontal Disease Recurrence
Funded at State University of New York at Buffalo · NIH-11319752 · Data updated 2026-11-12
This project looks at whether certain immune memory cells in the gums make periodontal disease return, to help people who keep getting gum disease.
Quick facts
| Grant type | NIH-funded research |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | State University of New York at Buffalo NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (Amherst, United States) |
| Project start | April 1, 2025 |
| Project end | March 31, 2030 |
| Funding year | 2026 |
| Award (this year) | $247,190 |
| NIH project number | 5R00DE032704-04 |
| Project ID | NIH-11319752 on NIH RePORTER |
Who could benefit from this research
✓Could help
People who experience recurrent or relapsing periodontal (gum) disease would be the most relevant patients for studies that follow from this work.
✕Less likely to help
People with a single, non‑recurrent gum infection or gum problems caused primarily by trauma, poor-fitting dental work, or non‑immune factors are unlikely to benefit directly from this research in the near term.
What this research studies
From a patient perspective, the team will use a new mouse model that mimics repeated gum‑disease episodes and lab methods to enrich T cells from gum tissue so they can study long‑lived immune cells in the gums. They will define a 'recovered' baseline after disease clears, then trigger relapses to see how repeated episodes change the local immune network. Early findings show CD4+ memory T cells appear early in life, build up with antigen exposure, and become enriched during recurrence, and these cells can drive bone loss under certain conditions. The researchers will test which memory T cell subtypes cause tissue damage and how they interact with other immune cells during relapse.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, this work could point to immune targets that prevent periodontal disease from coming back and reduce gum and bone loss.
How similar studies have gone: Previous animal and basic research has linked immune responses to gum disease, but specifically targeting CD4+ tissue‑resident memory T cell subtypes during recurrence is a relatively new and exploratory approach.
Where this research is happening
-
State University of New York at Buffalo
Amherst, United States Active
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Alvarez Rivas, Carla Andrea — State University of New York at Buffalo
- Study coordinator: Alvarez Rivas, Carla Andrea
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About this research
- This is an active NIH-funded research project — typically early-stage science, not a clinical trial accepting patient enrollment.
- Some NIH-funded labs run parallel clinical studies or seek volunteers for related work. To check, contact the principal investigator or institution listed above.
- For full project details, budget, and progress reports, visit the official NIH RePORTER page.