Killing of treponema denticola by mouse peritoneal macrophages

P. Gaibani, C. Vocale, S. Ambretti, F. Cavrini, J. Izard, L. Miragliotta, M. T. Pellegrino, V. Sambri

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

9 Scopus citations

Abstract

Treponema denticola has been identified as an important cause of periodontal disease and hypothesized to be involved in extra-oral infections. The objective of this study was to investigate the role of T. denticola cell length and motility during mouse peritoneal macrophages in vitro uptake. Macrophages, incubated under aerobic and anaerobic conditions, produced a similar amount of TNF-α when stimulated with Escherichia coli LPS. The uptake of FlgE- and CfpA-deficient mutants of T. denticola was significantly increased compared with the wild-type strain, due to cell size or lack of motility. Opsonization with specific antibodies considerably improved the treponemes uptake. These results suggest that macrophages, in addition to other phagocytes, could play an important role in the control of T. denticola infection, and that the raising of specific antibodies could improve the efficacy of the immune response toward T. denticola, either at an oral site or during dissemination.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)521-526
Number of pages6
JournalJournal of Dental Research
Volume89
Issue number5
DOIs
StatePublished - May 2010
Externally publishedYes

Keywords

  • Dissemination
  • Immune response
  • Innate immunity
  • Periodontitis
  • Phagocytosis
  • Treponemes

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • General Dentistry

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