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Journal of Clinical Microbiology, May 1999, p. 1426-1430, Vol. 37, No. 5
Division of Special Care
Dentistry1 and Departments of Oral
Microbiology2 and Preventive
Dentistry,3 Osaka University Faculty of
Dentistry, Suita-Osaka 565-0871, Japan
Received 11 December 1998/Returned for modification 26 January
1999/Accepted 3 February 1999
Fimbriae (FimA) of Porphyromonas gingivalis are
filamentous components on the cell surface and are thought to play an
important role in the colonization and invasion of periodontal tissues. We previously demonstrated that fimA can be classified into
four variants (types I to IV) on the basis of the nucleotide sequences of the fimA gene. In the present study, we attempted to
detect the four different fimA genes in saliva and plaque
samples isolated from patients with periodontitis using the PCR method.
Four sets of fimA type-specific primers were designed for
the PCR assay. These primers selectively amplified 392-bp (type I),
257-bp (type II), 247-bp (type III), and 251-bp (type IV) DNA fragments
of the fimA gene. Positive PCR results were observed with
reference strains of P. gingivalis in a type-specific
manner. All other laboratory strains of oral and nonoral bacteria gave
negative results. The sensitivity of the PCR assay for fimA
type-specific detection was between 5 and 50 cells of P. gingivalis. Clinical samples were obtained from saliva and
subgingival plaque from deep pockets (
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Distribution of Porphyromonas gingivalis
Strains with fimA Genotypes in Periodontitis
Patients
4 mm) of 93 patients with
periodontitis. Bacterial genomic DNA was isolated from the samples, and
the targeted fragments were amplified by PCR. The presence of P. gingivalis was demonstrated in 73 patients (78.5%), and a single
fimA gene was detected in most patients. The distribution
of the four fimA types among the P. gingivalis-positive patients was as follows: type I, 5.4%; type
II, 58.9%; type III, 6.8%; type IV, 12.3%; types I and II, 6.8%;
types II and IV, 2.7%; and untypeable, 6.8%. P. gingivalis with type II fimA was detected more
frequently in the deeper pockets, and a significant difference of the
occurrence was observed between shallow (4 mm) and deep (
8 mm)
pockets. These results suggest that P. gingivalis strains
that possess type II fimA are significantly more
predominant in periodontitis patients, and we speculate that these
organisms are involved in the destructive progression of periodontal diseases.
*
Corresponding author. Mailing address: Division of
Special Care Dentistry, Osaka University Faculty of Dentistry, 1-8 Yamadaoka, Suita-Osaka 565-0871, Japan. Phone: 81-6-6879-2280. Fax:
81-6-6879-2284. E-mail: amanoa{at}dent.osaka-u.ac.jp.
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