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Oral Microbiome and Nitric Oxide: the Missing Link in the Management of Blood Pressure

  • Gut Microbiome, Sympathetic Nervous System, and Hypertension (MK Raizada and EM Richards, Section Editors)
  • Published:
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Abstract

Having high blood pressure puts you at risk for heart disease and stroke, which are leading causes of death in the USA and worldwide. One out of every three Americans has hypertension, and it is estimated that despite aggressive treatment with medications, only about half of those medicated have managed blood pressure. Recent discoveries of the oral microbiome that reduces inorganic nitrate to nitrite and nitric oxide provide a new therapeutic target for the management of hypertension. The presence or absence of select and specific bacteria may determine steady-state blood pressure levels. Eradication of oral bacteria through antiseptic mouthwash or overuse of antibiotics causes blood pressure to increase. Allowing recolonization of nitrate- and nitrite-reducing bacteria can normalize blood pressure. This review will provide evidence of the link between oral microbiota and the production of nitric oxide and regulation of systemic blood pressure. Management of systemic hypertension through maintenance of the oral microbiome is a completely new paradigm in cardiovascular medicine.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Molecular and Human Genetics, Baylor College of Medicine, The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston, Houston, TX, USA

    Nathan S. Bryan

  2. Department of Periodontics, The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston, 7000 Fannin, Houston, TX, 77030, USA

    Gena Tribble & Nikola Angelov

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  1. Nathan S. Bryan
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  2. Gena Tribble
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  3. Nikola Angelov
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Correspondence to Nathan S. Bryan.

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Conflict of Interest

Dr. Bryan reports personal fees and other from HumanN, Inc. In addition, he has a patent 8,298,589 with royalties paid to University of Texas, a patent 8,303,995 with royalties paid to University of Texas, a patent 8,435,570 with royalties paid to University of Texas, a patent 8,962,038 with royalties paid to University of Texas, a patent 9,119,823 with royalties paid to University of Texas, and a patent 9,241,999 with royalties paid to University of Texas. XXX declare no conflicts of interest relevant to this manuscript. Drs. Tribble and Angelov declare no conflicts of interest relevant to this manuscript.

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This article does not contain any studies with human or animal subjects performed by any of the authors.

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This article is part of the Topical Collection on Gut Microbiome, Sympathetic Nervous System, and Hypertension

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Bryan, N.S., Tribble, G. & Angelov, N. Oral Microbiome and Nitric Oxide: the Missing Link in the Management of Blood Pressure. Curr Hypertens Rep 19, 33 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11906-017-0725-2

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