Prevalence of Aggregatibacter actinomycetemcomitans in Sudanese patients with aggressive periodontitis: a case-control study

Background and Objective: Aggregatibacter actinomycetemcomitans is considered a possible etiological agent for aggressive periodontitis. The aim of this study was to determine the prevalence of the JP2 clone and non-JP2 genotypes of A. actinomycetemcomitans in the subgingival plaque of patients with aggressive periodontitis and controls among Sudanese high-school students. Material and Methods: In a previous study we examined a large representative sample of students attending high schools in Khartoum, Sudan. In this population, 17 patients with aggressive periodontitis and 17 controls (14-19 years of age) consented to participate in the present study. The subjects underwent a clinical periodontal examination, and subgingival dental plaque samples were collected using paper points. The presence of the A. actinomycetemcomitans JP2 clone and non-JP2 genotypes were assessed using loop-mediated isothermal amplification (LAMP) and the PCR. Results: The JP2 clone of A. actinomycetemcomitans was not detected in the subgingival plaque of either the cases or the controls. Non-JP2 types of A. actinomycetemcomitans were detected in the subgingival plaque of 12 (70.6%) patients with aggressive periodontitis and from only one (5.9%) control subject, showing a significantly higher frequency of detection in cases than in controls (p = 0.0001). The odds ratio for the detection of A. actinomycetemcomitans in the subgingival plaque of the patients with aggressive periodontitis was 38.4 (95% confidence interval: 4.0-373.0; p = 0.002). The PCR and LAMP methods showed identical results pertaining to the identification of non-JP2 types of A. actinomycetemcomitans. Conclusions: The JP2 clone of A. actinomycetemcomitans was not detected in the subgingival plaque of high school subjects in Sudan. The detection of non-JP2 types of A. actinomycetemcomitans may be a useful marker of increased risk for development of aggressive periodontitis in young subjects.