Saliva Microbiota Changes During Standard Residential Substance Abuse Treatment

The human oral cavity is home to a diverse community of microorganisms, the oral microbiota, with its members existing in complex relationships with one another and their human host. Bacterial species predominate the oral microbiota. Evaluation of a saliva sample is a simple way to examine the overall microbial composition of an oral microbiota. Opioid analgesics are a commonly prescribed class of pharmaceuticals that are used worldwide for pain control. In addition to their potential for misuse and overdose, opioid analgesics can have negative systemic effects. Opioid compounds can bind to immune cells and modulate immune function with both suppressive and/or stimulatory effects, including affecting the composition and diversity of host microbiomes. In this study, we are investigating whether the composition of the oral microbiome changes in an individual who has undergone opioid detoxification. Saliva samples were collected from study participants who have undergone the process of detoxification from opioid misuse and are now in treatment. The samples were used for microbiota profiling by 16S ribosomal RNA amplicon sequencing. We found that the composition of the oral microbiota changed over time in individuals who had undergone opioid detoxification. When comparing second samples to first samples, alpha diversity changes were discovered. The four most dominant genera in our samples were Veillonella, Streptococcus, Prevotella 7, and Actinomyces. Differential abundance analyses revealed bacterial groups correlating with host metadata. The ongoing study will aid in the evaluation of saliva microbiome biomarkers relevant for assessment of host health and recovery.