Descrizione del progetto
Profilazione dei microbi della placca dentale per combattere le malattie peri-implantari
Le malattie che colpiscono gli impianti dentali, come la perimplantite, sono causate da batteri della placca dentale. La profilazione delle comunità microbiche intorno agli impianti dentali, però, non rientra nella normale sanità. L’obiettivo principale del progetto PB3P, finanziato dall’UE, è quello di sviluppare un prodotto per le cliniche odontoiatriche che combini la profilazione metagenomica ad alta risoluzione e metodi di apprendimento automatico predittivo. In questo modo si contribuirà a delineare una firma microbica riproducibile per le malattie peri-implantari e a formulare strategie di trattamento per il mantenimento delle cure dentali. In particolare, la soluzione PB3P prenderà in considerazione la diversità microbica della placca verso un approccio personalizzato per le cliniche odontoiatriche.
Obiettivo
Oral diseases are a global medical and socioeconomic burden. Diseases affecting dental implants (peri-implant mucositis and peri-implantitis) are particularly on the rise, and despite the plaque microbiome plays a crucial role in their etiology, the potential of profiling the microbial communities around implants for supporting implant care has not been exploited yet for clinical applications. The availability of metagenomic tools able to profile human microbiomes at unprecedented resolution developed within the ERC-StG MetaPG project and a pilot study we recently performed on the peri-implant microbiome are now enabling such tantalizing opportunity. In this PoC proposal, we aim to develop a product for dental clinics to provide clinically actionable indications for the prevention and treatment of peri-implant diseases by a combination of high-resolution strain-level metagenomic profiling and predictive machine learning methods. Such approach would overcome available clinical tests that are based on low-resolution molecular techniques that are inadequate at completely characterizing the plaque microbiome and do not offer a reliable support in the daily clinical practice to the dentists. By profiling and analysing 2,000 peri-implant microbiome samples collected from 50 dental clinics in the R&D phase, we aim to develop and validate a market-ready kit to (1) define a reproducible strain-level microbial signature for peri-implant diseases, (2) identify and characterize clinically relevant strain-level features of Fusobacterium nucleatum in mucositis, and (3) successfully support the clinical dental practice. Because inter-patient strain-level diversity of the plaque microbiome and of F. nucleatum in particular explains the variability in peri-implant health, our commercial proposition will provide the first microbiome-based and personalized approach for dental clinics.
Campo scientifico
Parole chiave
Programma(i)
Meccanismo di finanziamento
ERC-POC - Proof of Concept GrantIstituzione ospitante
38123 TRENTO
Italia
L’organizzazione si è definita una PMI (piccola e media impresa) al momento della firma dell’accordo di sovvenzione.