Periodontal disease has links with Alzheimer’s disease. The bacterium Porphyromonas gingivalis plays a major role in gum disease and has been associated with Alzheimer’s disease. We have identified a small protein, produced by the healthy gum around teeth, called SCPPPQ1, which has been shown to kill this bacterium. Our goal is to exploit SCPPPQ1 to control this bacterium and thereby reduce its impact on Alzheimer’s disease. To optimise the therapeutic potential of SCPPPQ1 we will apply advanced imaging methods to see whether this bacterium enters the brain and/or achieves its effect at a distance and then use an animal model of periodontal disease to determine whether SCPPPQ1 can mitigate brain damage. Our ultimate objective is to attack this bacterium directly at its source, at the level of the gum, before it contributes to causing brain changes. This represents a change in paradigm in targeting an aggravating factor in the multifactorial cascade defining Alzheimer’s disease.
