T cell responses to a mouth bacteria linked to severe gum disease
Official title: T cell response in Aggregatibacter actinomycetemcomitans-associated periodontal disease
Funded at University of Minnesota · NIH-11325308 · Data updated 2026-11-12
This project will find out whether immune T cells that react to a mouth bacterium called Aggregatibacter actinomycetemcomitans (Aa) help cause tissue and bone damage in adults with severe gum disease.
Quick facts
| Grant type | NIH-funded research |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | University of Minnesota NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (Minneapolis, United States) |
| Project start | January 1, 2025 |
| Project end | December 31, 2029 |
| Funding year | 2026 |
| Award (this year) | $245,547 |
| NIH project number | 5R00DE032747-03 |
| Project ID | NIH-11325308 on NIH RePORTER |
Who could benefit from this research
✓Could help
Adults with moderate to severe periodontitis, especially those known or suspected to have Aggregatibacter actinomycetemcomitans in their mouths, would be the most relevant group for this research.
✕Less likely to help
People with only mild gum inflammation or whose disease is driven by other bacteria or non-infectious causes may be less likely to benefit directly from these findings.
What this research studies
Researchers will use stored blood immune cells from people with periodontitis and expose them to heat-killed Aa to identify the T cells that respond. Those responding T cells will be analyzed by flow cytometry and single-cell RNA sequencing to see what immune signals they produce. The team will then generate mice engineered to make Aa-specific T cell receptors, transfer the Aa-reactive T cells into mice, and trigger Aa-associated gum disease to see if those T cells drive bone loss and inflammation. Throughout the mouse experiments they will measure bone loss, stain tissues to visualize immune cells, and perform detailed cell-level immune profiling to link specific T cell behaviors to tissue damage.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, this work could point to new ways to prevent or treat severe gum disease by targeting the harmful T cell responses driving tissue and bone loss.
How similar studies have gone: Previous research has linked immune responses to periodontitis, but combining patient T cell profiling with creation of Aa-specific TCR mice to test causality is a novel approach.
Where this research is happening
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University of Minnesota
Minneapolis, United States Active
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Williams, Drake Winslow — University of Minnesota
- Study coordinator: Williams, Drake Winslow
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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.