Shedding light on how oral bacteria can aggravate rheumatoid arthritis

Clinical studies have shown that periodontal disease with Aggregatibacter actinomycetemcomitans can exacerbate symptoms of rheumatoid arthritis (RA), but the molecular mechanisms behind this remain unclear. In a recent study, researchers conducted several experiments in a mouse model of arthritis to shed light on this topic. Their findings reveal the crucial role of macrophages and the protein caspase-11 in this context, hinting at promising therapeutic targets for RA and other periodontal infection-related diseases.