Interdisciplinary team at MUSC Hollings Cancer Center maps role of P. gingivalis in drug resistance.

A recent paper published in iScience by an interdisciplinary team at MUSC Hollings Cancer Center explores the role of the bacteria Porphyromonas gingivalis in promoting drug resistance in oral cancer tumors. The researchers found that P. gingivalis interferes with chemotherapy-induced mitophagy, a process that removes damaged mitochondria, thereby allowing the tumors to become resistant to the drug's effects. The team identified the fimbriae, protein structures on the outside of the bacteria, as the key component responsible for this interference. The findings suggest that inhibiting the fimbriae with antibiotics could potentially prevent drug resistance. [Extracted from the article]