The surface (S-) layer is a virulence factor of Bacteroides forsythus

1 Department of Biomedical Sciences, University of Maryland, Baltimore, Dental School, 666 W. Baltimore Street, Baltimore, MD 21201, USA 2 Department of Periodontics, University of Maryland, Baltimore, Dental School, 666 W. Baltimore Street, Baltimore, MD 21201, USA 3 Oral Health Research Center, Un...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:Microbiology (Society for General Microbiology) 2003-12, Vol.149 (12), p.3617-3627
Main Authors: Sabet, M, Lee, S.-W, Nauman, R. K, Sims, T, Um, H.-S
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Abscess - etiology
Animals
Bacterial Adhesion - physiology
Bacteroides - pathogenicity
Bacteroides - physiology
Bacteroides - ultrastructure
Bacteroides forsythus
Bacteroides Infections - etiology
Biological and medical sciences
Female
Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology
Hemagglutinins - physiology
Humans
Mice
Mice, Inbred BALB C
Microbiology
Microscopy, Electron
Periodontitis - etiology
Virulence
Citations: Items that this one cites
Items that cite this one
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:1 Department of Biomedical Sciences, University of Maryland, Baltimore, Dental School, 666 W. Baltimore Street, Baltimore, MD 21201, USA 2 Department of Periodontics, University of Maryland, Baltimore, Dental School, 666 W. Baltimore Street, Baltimore, MD 21201, USA 3 Oral Health Research Center, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, USA Correspondence S.-W. Lee SWL001{at}dental.umaryland.edu Bacteroides forsythus has emerged as a crucial periodontal pathogen with possible implications for systemic disease. The aim of this study was to isolate the S-layer from B. forsythus and examine its virulence potential as a part of efforts to characterize virulence factors of B. forsythus . The role of the S-layer in the haemagglutinating and adherent/invasive activities was evaluated. It was observed that the S-layer alone was able to mediate haemagglutination. In adherent and invasive studies, transmission electron microscopy clearly revealed that B. forsythus cells were able to attach to and invade KB cells, showing the formation of a microvillus-like extension around adherent and intracellular bacteria. The quantitative analysis showed that five different B. forsythus strains exhibited attachment (1·9–2·3 %) and invasion (0·4–0·7 %) capabilities. It was also observed through antibody inhibition assays that adherent/invasive activities of B. forsythus are mediated by the S-layer. Furthermore, an in vivo immunization study adopting a murine abscess model was used to prove that the S-layer is involved in the infectious process of abscess formation. While mice immunized with purified S-layer and B. forsythus whole cells did not develop any abscesses when challenged with viable B. forsythus cells, unimmunized mice developed abscesses. Collectively, the data obtained from these studies indicate that the S-layer of B. forsythus is a virulence factor. Abbreviations: HA, haemagglutination assay; NaDoc, sodium deoxycholate; TEM, transmission electron microscopy
ISSN:1350-0872
1465-2080
DOI:10.1099/mic.0.26535-0