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Infection and Immunity, September 2006, p. 5023-5028, Vol. 74, No. 9
0019-9567/06/$08.00+0     doi:10.1128/IAI.00062-06
Copyright © 2006, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.

Porphyromonas gingivalis Vesicles Enhance Attachment, and the Leucine-Rich Repeat BspA Protein Is Required for Invasion of Epithelial Cells by "Tannerella forsythia"

Department of Oral Biology, School of Dental Medicine, State University of New York at Buffalo, Buffalo, New York 14214

Received 12 January 2006/ Returned for modification 13 April 2006/ Accepted 13 June 2006

The human oral cavity harbors more than 500 species of bacteria. Periodontitis, a bacterially induced inflammatory disease that leads to tooth loss, is believed to result from infection by a select group of gram-negative periodontopathogens that includes Porphyromonas gingivalis, Treponema denticola, and "Tannerella forsythia" (opinion on name change from Tannerella forsythensis pending; formerly Bacteroides forsythus). Epithelial cell invasion by periodontopathogens is considered to be an important virulence mechanism for evasion of the host defense responses. Further, the epithelial cells with invading bacteria also serve as reservoirs important in recurrent infections. The present study was therefore undertaken to address the epithelial cell adherence and invasion properties of T. forsythia and the role of the cell surface-associated protein BspA in these processes. Further, we were interested in determining if P. gingivalis, one of the pathogens frequently found associated in disease, or its outer membrane vesicles (OMVs) could modulate the epithelial cell adherence and invasion abilities of T. forsythia. Here we show that epithelial cell attachment and invasion by T. forsythia are dependent on the BspA protein. In addition, P. gingivalis or its OMVs enhance the attachment and invasion of T. forsythia to epithelial cells. Thus, interactions between these two bacteria may play important roles in virulence by promoting host cell attachment and invasion.

Editor: V. J. DiRita

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