New Studies Show that Blood Clots May Be Triggered By Dental Plaque Bacteria
Oral bacteria that escape into the bloodstream are able to cause blood clots and trigger life-threatening endocarditis. Further research could lead to new drugs to tackle infective heart disease, say scientists presenting their work at the Society for General Microbiology’s Spring Conference in Dublin. Researchers from the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland (RCSI) and the University of Bristol have discovered that S. gordonii is able to produce a molecule on its surface that lets it mimic the human protein fibrinogen — a blood-clotting factor. This activates the platelets, causing them to clump inside blood vessels.