Oral bacteria accelerate pancreatic cancer development in mice
Objective Epidemiological studies highlight an association between pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) and oral carriage of the anaerobic bacterium Porphyromonas gingivalis , a species highly linked to periodontal disease. We analysed the potential for P. gingivalis to promote pancreatic cancer development in an animal model and probed underlying mechanisms. Design We tracked P. gingivalis bacterial translocation from the oral cavity to the pancreas following administration to mice. To dissect the role of P. gingivalis in PDAC development, we administered bacteria to a genetically engineered mouse PDAC model consisting of inducible acinar cell expression of mutant Kras ( Kras +/LSL-G12D; Ptf1a-CreER, iKC mice). These mice were used to study the cooperative effects of Kras mutation and P. gingivalis on the progression of pancreatic intraepithelial neoplasia (PanIN) to PDAC. The direct effects of P. gingivalis on acinar cells and PDAC cell lines were studied in vitro. Results P. ging