Bacterial adherence is an essential virulence factor in pathogenesis and infection. Fusobacterium nucleatum has a central role in oral biofilm architecture by acting as a bridge between early Gram-positive and late Gr...Bacterial adherence is an essential virulence factor in pathogenesis and infection. Fusobacterium nucleatum has a central role in oral biofilm architecture by acting as a bridge between early Gram-positive and late Gram-negative colonizers that do not otherwise adhere to each other. In this study, we survey a key adherence interaction of F. nucleatum with Porphyromonas gingivalis, and present evidence that multiple fusobacterial adhesins have a role in the attachment of F. nucleatum ATCC 23726 to P. gingivalis in a highly strain-dependent manner. Interaction between these species displayed varying sensitivities to arginine, galactose and lactose. Arginine was found to hamper coaggregation by at least 62% and up to 89% with several P. gingivalis strains and galactose inhibition ranged from no inhibition up to 58% with the same P. gingivalis strains. Lactose consistently inhibited F. nucleatum interaction with these P. gingivalis strains ranging from 40% to 56% decrease in coaggregation. Among the adhesins involved are the previously described Fap2 and surprisingly, RadD, which was described in an earlier study for its function in attachment of F. nucleatum to Gram-positive species. We also provide evidence for the presence of at least one additional adhesin that is sensitive to arginine but unlike Fap2 and RadD, is not a member of the autotransporter family type of fusobacterial large outer membrane proteins. The strain-specific binding profile of multiple fusobacterial adhesins to P. gingivalis highlights the heterogeneity and complexity of interspecies interactions in the oral cavity.展开更多
基金Renate Lux was supported by National Institute of Health,National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research DE021108 and DE018276Jane Park was supported by NIDCR grant 5T90DE022734-02
文摘Bacterial adherence is an essential virulence factor in pathogenesis and infection. Fusobacterium nucleatum has a central role in oral biofilm architecture by acting as a bridge between early Gram-positive and late Gram-negative colonizers that do not otherwise adhere to each other. In this study, we survey a key adherence interaction of F. nucleatum with Porphyromonas gingivalis, and present evidence that multiple fusobacterial adhesins have a role in the attachment of F. nucleatum ATCC 23726 to P. gingivalis in a highly strain-dependent manner. Interaction between these species displayed varying sensitivities to arginine, galactose and lactose. Arginine was found to hamper coaggregation by at least 62% and up to 89% with several P. gingivalis strains and galactose inhibition ranged from no inhibition up to 58% with the same P. gingivalis strains. Lactose consistently inhibited F. nucleatum interaction with these P. gingivalis strains ranging from 40% to 56% decrease in coaggregation. Among the adhesins involved are the previously described Fap2 and surprisingly, RadD, which was described in an earlier study for its function in attachment of F. nucleatum to Gram-positive species. We also provide evidence for the presence of at least one additional adhesin that is sensitive to arginine but unlike Fap2 and RadD, is not a member of the autotransporter family type of fusobacterial large outer membrane proteins. The strain-specific binding profile of multiple fusobacterial adhesins to P. gingivalis highlights the heterogeneity and complexity of interspecies interactions in the oral cavity.