A team of researchers from VCU Massey Comprehensive Cancer Center, the VCU School of Dentistry and the University of Pennsylvania recently published a study in Nature Communications examining why some oral inflammatory diseases progress much more rapidly than others.
The study was co-led by Kang I. Ko, D.D.S., Ph.D., of the University of Pennsylvania, Jinze Liu, Ph.D., of VCU, and Kevin Matthew Byrd, D.D.S., Ph.D., of VCU, with co-first authors Quinn T. Easter, Ph.D., and Khoa L.A. Huynh, Ph.D. The findings identified previously unrecognized changes in blood vessels that may help researchers better understand tissue destruction in oral disease and provide insights relevant to other inflammatory conditions, including cancer.
To conduct this study, the research team used and expanded a tool they created , the Human Periodontal Atlas—the leading periodontal atlas in the world—as part of the wider Human Cell Atlas, a single cell atlas built from existing publicly available data sets, to examine RNA patterns across different cell types.
“It’s a lot like building really complicated LEGO structures,” said Byrd, a member of the Cancer Biology research program at Massey and assistant professor of oral and craniofacial molecular biology at the VCU School of Dentistry. “Each dataset gives us another set of pieces. By putting them together, we can see which disease patterns are unique to one condition and which ones show up across related inflammatory diseases.”
The study compared three oral inflammatory conditions:
The research findings
One of their major findings was that differences in bacterial burden alone did not explain why peri-implantitis and rapidly advancing periodontitis cause more severe tissue destruction. This suggested that changes in the body's own tissue response may play an important role in disease progression.
The key similarity they found was that CD38, a protein associated with inflammation, aging and cellular metabolism, was enriched in blood vessel cells in cases of rapidly progressing periodontitis and peri-implantitis.
By using spatial biology to compare these related diseases directly in human tissue, the team was able to identify a shared blood vessel pattern that may represent a drug-targetable mechanism of rapid tissue destruction.
“This hasn’t been described before in peri-implantitis,” said Easter, research scientist at the VCU School of Dentistry. “This is a new mechanism that could potentially change the way that this disease is thought about or even treated.”
What’s next?
Moving forward, the team plans to continue building single-cell and spatial atlases across more than 20 human diseases, including oral inflammatory diseases and cancer. By integrating these datasets, researchers aim to identify shared disease patterns, uncover potential therapeutic targets and support more precise approaches to treatment.
Collaborators
This research was funded by:
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About VCU Massey Comprehensive Cancer Center
VCU Massey Comprehensive Cancer Center is working toward a future without cancer – one discovery, one successful therapy and one life saved at a time. Recognized as an NCI-designated Comprehensive Cancer Center, Massey is among the top 4% of cancer centers in the country, influencing a new standard of care through research, education and community engagement. The community informs and partners with Massey on its research to best address the cancer burden and disparities of those the cancer center serves, with a local focus and a global impact. Massey conducts cancer research spanning basic, translational, clinical and population sciences; offers state-of-the-art cancer therapies and clinical trials, including a network that brings trials to communities statewide; provides oncology education, teaching and training; and promotes cancer prevention. At Massey, oncology experts collaborate in multidisciplinary teams to provide award-winning, comprehensive cancer care at multiple sites throughout Virginia. Visit Massey online at masseycancercenter.org or call 877-4-MASSEY for more information.
Nature Communications
Data/statistical analysis
Cells
CD38⁺ endothelial remodeling marks spatially patterned vasculopathy in rapidly advancing periodontitis and peri-implantitis
8-May-2026
The authors had access to the study data and reviewed and approved the final manuscript. Although the authors view these as noncompeting financial interests, Q.T.E., B.F.M., A.H., and K.M.B. are all active members of the Human Cell Atlas. Additionally, K.M.B. is a scientific advisor at Arcato Laboratories. Further, K.M.B. and J.L. are co-founders of, K.M.B. is CEO of, J.L. is CTO of, and K.L.A.H. and B.F.M. own equity in Stratica Biosciences. All other authors declare no competing interests.