IgG sequencing maps systemic antibody binding to oral commensals and pathobionts in health and periodontitis
- 1Human Barrier Immunity Section, Laboratory of Host Immunity & Microbiome, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, National Institutes of Health,
Abstract
The oral cavity harbors one of the body's most diverse microbial communities, which continuously seeds the bloodstream and gastrointestinal tract, particularly in periodontitis, a disease in which both barrier permeability and microbial burden increase. Despite this constant systemic exposure, overt bacteremia from oral organisms is rare, suggesting an active surveillance system that contains this reservoir. Here, we apply IgG-sequencing to comprehensively map mucosal and systemic antibody recognition of the oral microbiome across paired oral fluid and serum from healthy individuals and patients with periodontitis. We find that IgG-binding is only weakly predicted by microbial abundance, suggesting taxon-specific and largely conserved IgG-binding of commensals, many of them streptococci which dominate antibody recognition irrespective of disease state. Periodontitis broadens the repertoire of IgG-bound taxa to include particular disease-associated pathobionts while preserving robust targeting of health-associated symbionts. Comparison of salivary and serum antibody profiles further uncovers a subset of commensal streptococci, including species implicated in infective endocarditis, that acquire disproportionate systemic IgG binding in periodontitis. Together, these findings establish a taxon-level atlas of humoral immunosurveillance at a major mucosal-microbial interface and reveal how periodontal disease reshapes systemic antibody recognition of both pathobionts and commensals.
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BibTeX
@misc{akhi2026sequencing,
title = {{IgG sequencing maps systemic antibody binding to oral commensals and pathobionts in health and periodontitis}},
author = {R. Akhi and D. Williams and T. Greenwell-Wild and A. S. Burns and S. Mistry and L. Brenchley and N. Bouladoux and I. Vujkovic-Cvijin and Y. Belkaid and A. Emiola and N. Moutsopoulos},
howpublished = {bioRxiv},
year = {2026},
month = sep,
doi = {10.64898/2026.09.28.753837},
url = {https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.64898/2026.09.28.753837v1},
note = {CC0},
}
RIS
TY - UNPB
TI - IgG sequencing maps systemic antibody binding to oral commensals and pathobionts in health and periodontitis
AU - R. Akhi
AU - D. Williams
AU - T. Greenwell-Wild
AU - A. S. Burns
AU - S. Mistry
AU - L. Brenchley
AU - N. Bouladoux
AU - I. Vujkovic-Cvijin
AU - Y. Belkaid
AU - A. Emiola
AU - N. Moutsopoulos
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/09/28
PB - bioRxiv
DO - 10.64898/2026.09.28.753837
UR - https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.64898/2026.09.28.753837v1
AB - The oral cavity harbors one of the body's most diverse microbial communities, which continuously seeds the bloodstream and gastrointestinal tract, particularly in periodontitis, a disease in which both barrier permeability and microbial burden increase. Despite this constant systemic exposure, overt bacteremia from oral organisms is rare, suggesting an active surveillance system that contains this reservoir. Here, we apply IgG-sequencing to comprehensively map mucosal and systemic antibody recognition of the oral microbiome across paired oral fluid and serum from healthy individuals and patients with periodontitis. We find that IgG-binding is only weakly predicted by microbial abundance, suggesting taxon-specific and largely conserved IgG-binding of commensals, many of them streptococci which dominate antibody recognition irrespective of disease state. Periodontitis broadens the repertoire of IgG-bound taxa to include particular disease-associated pathobionts while preserving robust targeting of health-associated symbionts. Comparison of salivary and serum antibody profiles further uncovers a subset of commensal streptococci, including species implicated in infective endocarditis, that acquire disproportionate systemic IgG binding in periodontitis. Together, these findings establish a taxon-level atlas of humoral immunosurveillance at a major mucosal-microbial interface and reveal how periodontal disease reshapes systemic antibody recognition of both pathobionts and commensals.
ER -