BBB Seminar: Ellen Berggreen

Ellen Berggreen
Department of Biomedicine, University of Bergen

Infections represent the majority of diseases in the oral cavity, and they can be followed by bone resorption and loss of teeth. It is mainly the host immune responses to infection that are responsible for the tissue destruction that takes place during disease progression. During the infections the host tissue undergoes inflammatory responses such as increased fluid filtration and activation of immune responses. The lymphatic system plays an important role in transport of excess tissue fluid and also in transport of immune cells to draining lymph nodes for activation of adaptive immunity. The lymphatic system was for many years difficult to study due to lack of specific lymphatic endothelial markers, but the discovery of several of them opened up a new research area.

This lecture covers observations in our lab during the last years, focusing on two major dental diseases: apical and marginal periodontitis. The involvement of the lymphatic system in these two conditions will be discussed, with the reported results obtained utilizing animal models and human biobank material.

Chair: Helge Wiig, Department of Biomedicine