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Journal of Clinical Microbiology, December 1999, p. 4028-4033, Vol. 37, No. 12
0095-1137/99/$04.00+0
Copyright © 1999, American Society for Microbiology. All rights reserved.

Porphyromonas gingivalis Strain Variability and Periodontitis

Ann L. Griffen,1,* Sharon R. Lyons,2 Mitzi R. Becker,3 Melvin L. Moeschberger,4 and Eugene J. Leys2

Departments of Pediatric Dentistry1 and Oral Biology,2 College of Dentistry,3 and Division of Epidemiology and Biometrics, School of Public Health, College of Medicine,4 The Ohio State University, Columbus, Ohio

Received 25 June 1999/Returned for modification 31 July 1999/Accepted 22 August 1999

To determine if there is variability in virulence among strains of Porphyromonas gingivalis in human periodontitis, their distribution in a group of subjects with clear indicators of periodontitis and in a healthy, age-matched control group was examined. The presence of heteroduplex types of P. gingivalis in the two groups was determined with a PCR-based assay. This assay relied on detection of polymorphisms in the ribosomal internal spacer region (ISR). ISR fragments generated by PCR with P. gingivalis-specific primers were hybridized to fragments from reference strains, and the formation of heteroduplexes from the hybridization of nonidentical sequences was observed by polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. Characteristic fingerprints from comparison with a panel of reference strains allowed the identification of heteroduplex types in clinical samples. One hundred thirty adults with periodontitis and 181 controls were sampled. With this approach, 11 heteroduplex types of P. gingivalis were detected in the population. Sufficient numbers were available for statistical analysis of six of these types. Heteroduplex type hW83 was found to be very strongly associated with periodontitis (P = 0.0000), and two additional types, h49417 and hHG1691, were also significantly associated with disease. The remaining types, h23A4, h381, and hA7A1, were detected more frequently in subjects with periodontitis than in healthy subjects, but the difference was not significant. These data indicate that virulence in human periodontitis varies among strains of P. gingivalis, and they identify an apparently highly virulent subgroup.

* Corresponding author. Mailing address: Department of Pediatric Dentistry, College of Dentistry, The Ohio State University, 305 W. 12th Ave., Columbus, OH 43210. Phone: (614) 292-1150. Fax: (614) 688-3077. E-mail: griffen.1{at}osu.edu.

Journal of Clinical Microbiology, December 1999, p. 4028-4033, Vol. 37, No. 12
0095-1137/99/$04.00+0
Copyright © 1999, American Society for Microbiology. All rights reserved.


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