Interestingly, BIRC3 may also play a role in the association between periodontitis and atherosclerosis because BIRC3 was down-regulated in aortic tissues after oral polybacterial infection with P. gingivalis, Treponema denticola, Tannerella forsythia, and F. nucleatum in ApoE null mice [43]. The gene discussed is APOE; the disease is periodontitis.