P. gingivalis accelerates gingival epithelial cell progression through the cell cycle

Microbes Infect. 2008 Feb;10(2):122-8. doi: 10.1016/j.micinf.2007.10.011. Epub 2007 Oct 26.

Abstract

P. gingivalis, an opportunistic pathogen in periodontal disease, can reside within the epithelial cells that line the gingival crevice. A proteomic analysis revealed that infection of gingival epithelial cells with P. gingivalis induces broadly based changes in the level and phosphorylation status of proteins that exert multi-level control on the eukaryotic cell cycle. Pathways that were impacted by P. gingivalis included those involving cyclins, p53 and PI3K. The predicted infection-dependent phenotype was confirmed by cytofluorimetry that showed an enhanced proliferation rate of gingival epithelial cells infected with P. gingivalis associated with accelerated progression through the S-phase. Elevated cell proliferation was dependent on the presence of the long fimbriae of P. gingivalis. The ability of P. gingivalis, a common inhabitant of the subgingival crevice, to accelerate cell cycling could have biological consequences for barrier and signaling functions, and for physiological status, of the gingival epithelium.

Publication types

  • Research Support, N.I.H., Extramural

MeSH terms

  • Cell Cycle*
  • Cell Proliferation
  • Cells, Cultured
  • Epithelial Cells / chemistry
  • Epithelial Cells / microbiology*
  • Fimbriae, Bacterial / genetics
  • Fimbriae, Bacterial / physiology
  • Humans
  • Porphyromonas gingivalis / physiology*
  • Proteins / isolation & purification
  • Proteins / physiology
  • Proteome / analysis

Substances

  • Proteins
  • Proteome