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Infection and Immunity, July 2001, p. 4242-4247, Vol. 69, No. 7
Department of Preventive Sciences, School of
Dentistry, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, Minnesota
Received 7 February 2001/Returned for modification 20 March
2001/Accepted 29 March 2001
Calprotectin, an S100 calcium-binding protein with broad-spectrum
antimicrobial activity in vitro, is expressed in neutrophils, monocytes, and gingival keratinocytes. In periodontitis, calprotectin appears upregulated and is detected at higher levels in gingival crevicular fluid and tissue specimens. How calprotectin contributes to
the pathogenesis of periodontal diseases is unknown. To isolate the
effects of calprotectin, a calprotectin-negative oral epithelial cell
line was transfected with calprotectin genes to enable expression. Porphyromonas gingivalis was permitted to bind and invade
transfected cells expressing calprotectin and sham transfectants. Rates
of invasion into both cell lines were compared using the antibiotic protection assay. Transfected cells expressing calprotectin showed 40 to 50% fewer internalized P. gingivalis than sham
transfectants. Similarly, binding to calprotectin expressing cells was
reduced approximately twofold at all time points (15, 30, 45, and 60 min) as estimated by immunofluorescence analysis. Independent of
invasion, however, prolonged exposure to P. gingivalis
induced epithelial cell rounding and detachment from the substratum.
These morphological changes were delayed, however, in cells expressing
calprotectin. Using P. gingivalis protease-deficient
mutants, we found that Arg-gingipain and Lys-gingipain contributed to
epithelial cell rounding and detachment. In conclusion, expression of
calprotectin appears to protect epithelial cells in culture against
binding and invasion by P. gingivalis. In addition, cells
expressing calprotectin are more resistant to detachment mediated by
Arg-gingipain and Lys-gingipain. In periodontal disease, calprotectin
may augment both the barrier protection and innate immune functions of
the gingival epithelium to promote resistance to P. gingivalis infection.
0019-9567/01/$04.00+0 DOI: 10.1128/IAI.69.7.4242-4247.2001
Copyright © 2001, American Society for Microbiology. All rights reserved.
Calprotectin Expression In Vitro by Oral Epithelial Cells Confers
Resistance to Infection by Porphyromonas
gingivalis
*
Corresponding author. Mailing address: 515 Delaware
St., S.E.; 17-164 Moos Tower, Minneapolis, MN 55455. Phone: (612)
626-1932. Fax: (612) 626-2651. E-mail:
rossx007{at}tc.umn.edu.
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