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Infection and Immunity, April 2005, p. 1947-1953, Vol. 73, No. 4
0019-9567/05/$08.00+0     doi:10.1128/IAI.73.4.1947-1953.2005
Copyright © 2005, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.

The Actinobacillus actinomycetemcomitans Autotransporter Adhesin Aae Exhibits Specificity for Buccal Epithelial Cells from Humans and Old World Primates

Daniel H. Fine,* Kabilan Velliyagounder, David Furgang, and Jeffrey B. Kaplan

Department of Oral Biology, New Jersey Dental School, Newark, New Jersey

Received 14 October 2004/ Returned for modification 16 November 2004/ Accepted 30 November 2004

Cells of the gram-negative periodontopathogen Actinobacillus actinomycetemcomitans express a surface-exposed, outer membrane autotransporter protein, designated Aae, which has been implicated in epithelial cell binding. We constructed a mutant strain of A. actinomycetemcomitans that contained a transposon insertion in the Aae structural gene (aae) and tested the mutant to determine its ability to bind to buccal epithelial cells (BECs) isolated from healthy volunteers. Significantly fewer mutant cells than wild-type cells bound to BECs. A broad-host-range plasmid that contained an intact aae gene driven by a heterologous tac promoter restored the ability of the mutant strain to bind to BECs at wild-type levels. This plasmid also conferred upon Escherichia coli the ability to express the Aae protein on its surface and to bind to human BECs. Aae-expressing E. coli also bound to BECs isolated from six Old World primates but not to BECs isolated from four New World primates or nine other nonprimate mammals, as well as to human gingival epithelial cells but not to human pharyngeal, palatal, tongue, bronchial, or cervical epithelial cells. Our findings indicate that Aae mediates binding of A. actinomycetemcomitans to BECs from humans and Old World primates and that this process may contribute to the host range specificity and tissue tropism exhibited by this bacterium.

* Corresponding author. Mailing address: Medical Science Building, Room C-636, 185 S. Orange Ave., Newark, NJ 07103. Phone: (973) 972-7053. Fax: (973) 972-0045. E-mail: finedh{at}umdnj.edu.

Editor: J. T. Barbieri

Infection and Immunity, April 2005, p. 1947-1953, Vol. 73, No. 4
0019-9567/05/$08.00+0     doi:10.1128/IAI.73.4.1947-1953.2005
Copyright © 2005, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.



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