An acid produced in the mouth due to gum disease can cause HIV to develop into full-blown AIDS, a Japanese researcher told Agence France Presse (AFP) on Thursday.
The bacteria that cause gum disease also produce a large amount of butyric acid, which hinders an enzyme called histone deacetylase (HDAC), Kuniyasu Ochiai, chair of the microbiology department at Nihon University in Tokyo, told the AFP. This enzyme prevents the proliferation of HIV, he added.
Previous research has shown that gum disease is linked to diabetes and heart disease, but this is the world's first finding that it activates HIV, Ochiai told the AFP.
The study is scheduled to be published in the March issue of the Journal of Immunology.
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