Autoantibodies to the β1-adrenoceptor from patients with periodontitis as a risk factor for cardiac dysfunction

Abstract

The presence of serum autoantibodies in periodontitis (P) patients against β1-adrenoceptor (β1-AR), using cardiac membranes or a synthetic β1-AR peptide corresponding to the second extracellular loop of human β1-AR as antigens, permit us to detect circulating antibody from 40 P patients but not in 20 normal individuals (control). Simultaneously, the P patients exhibited a decrease in HRV. Anti-β1-AR IgG titters correlated with the decrease in HRV of the same patients and the anti-β1-AR peptide IgG displayed partial agonist-like activity and modified the contractility of isolated atria, produced cyclic nucleotides, and inhibited the β1-AR agonistic activity of isoproterenol. We demonstrated in this study an association between periodontitis infection and an increased risk of cardiac disease, thereby highlighting the role of anti-β1-AR autoantibodies in alteration of myocardial contractility.