Name: Vu Dang La

Institution:Groupe de recherche en écologie buccale, Faculté de médecine dentaire, Université Laval    
Email: danglv2001@yahoo.com

Project Title

Beneficial effects of plant extracts and plant-derived molecules for periodontal disease : Inhibition of cytotoxicity and bone resorption

Short Project Description

Periodontal diseases are the most common chronic inflammatory disorders in adults and often lead to tooth loss via bacterial toxic effets and uncontrolled host immune reponse. Recently, our group brought clear evidence suggesting that some plant extracts and plant-derived molecules rich in polyphenols may prevent adhesion of periodontopathogens to host tissue and reduce periodontal tissue destruction through inactivation of proteolytic enzymes and reduction of the inflammatory reponse.

In this project, we propose to verify the hypotheses that such plant extracts and plant-derived molecules are able to i) protect human periodontal tissues from bacterial cytotoxic products and ii) modulate alveolar bone metabolism by interfering with osteoblasts and osteoclasts in favor of periodontal health.

If successful, these plant extracts and plant-derived molecules may be incorporated into products and used locally for the treament of diseased periodontal sites. Such an adjunctive treament may represent an interesting alternative to the use of antibiotics for which bacterial resistance may develop.

Academic Qualifications

DDS: Medical Sciences University of Hochiminh city, Vietnam   (1995-2001)

MSc, PhD: Marseille medical school, France (2001-2006)

Most Recent Publications

Charles Bodet, Vu Dang La, Francesco Epifano and Daniel Grenier. Anti-inflammatory property of naringenin on macrophages and in an exvivo human whole blood model. (Submitted)

Michel Drancourt, Michel Signoli, Vu Dang La, Bruno Bizot, Véronique Roux, Stéfan Tzortzis and Didier Raoult. “glpD gene