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PubMed2003

The production of 6-deoxy-L-talan from Actinobacillus actinomycetemcomitans via bacterial coupling in vitro.

A method of producing 6-deoxy-L-talan, the serotype c-specific polysaccharide antigen (SPA) from Actinobacillus actinomycetemcomitans,was established using a whole-cell reaction with two recombinant Escherichia coli strains. The production of serotype c-SPA was investigated using the dot blot assay with anti-A. actinomycetemcomitans NCTC 9710 serum after an 18-h reaction, starting with a solution containing the recombinant E. coli cells, alpha-d-glucose-1-phosphate, and dTTP. Moreover, examination of the time course for 6-deoxy-L-talan production proved that this system ran satisfactorily. This paper is the first report of a convenient method to readily produce the exopolysaccharide from A. actinomycetemcomitans in vitro.

Aggregatibacter actinomycetemcomitans↗
PubMed2002

Differences in iron acquisition from human haemoglobin among strains of Actinobacillus actinomycetemcomitans.

To get a better insight into the physiology of the high-toxic JP2 clone of Actinobacillus actinomycetemcomitans serotype b, which is strongly associated with juvenile periodontitis in adolescents of African descent, the modes of iron acquisition in this clone were examined and compared to those of other strains of the species. None of the strains examined could utilize human transferrin as a source of iron. This was in accordance with the presence of a non-functional tbpA gene, which normally encodes the A subunit of the transferrin-binding-protein complex. Southern blot analysis indicated that functional duplications of tbpA were not present in the genome. Thus, A. actinomycetemcomitans seems to be in a process of evolution, in which iron acquisition from host transferrin is not essential as in many other members of the pasteurellaceae. All strains could utilize haem as a source of iron. All 11 A. actinomycetemcomitans strains examined harboured a single genomic sequence with homology to the hgpA gene encoding haemoglobin-binding protein A in Haemophilus influenzae. However, in all three strains belonging to the JP2 clone and in one serotype e strain hgpA was a pseudogene. Seven other strains possessed a functional hgpA gene which, according to insertion mutagenesis experiments, was responsible for the ability of these strains to utilize haemoglobin as a source of iron. Thus, the presence of an hgpA pseudogene and the inability to use human haemoglobin as an iron source discriminate the high-toxic JP2 clone from low-toxic serotype b strains and most other strains of A. actinomycetemcomitans.

Aggregatibacter actinomycetemcomitans↗
PubMed1991

Sensitivity of Actinobacillus actinomycetemcomitans and Haemophilus aphrophilus to oxidative killing.

We examined the killing of Actinobacillus actinomycetemcomitans and Haemophilus aphrophilus by oxygen metabolites generated by the xanthine-xanthine oxidase (X-XO) system. This system generates a mixture of oxidants, including superoxide radical, hydrogen peroxide, hydroxyl radical, and possibly singlet oxygen. Differential sensitivity to the X-XO system was observed among strains of A. actinomycetemcomitans; notably, 2 catalase-deficient strains and 2 strains representative of serotypes b and c were the most susceptible. H. aphrophilus was not sensitive. The amount of oxidants produced by the X-XO system more closely correlated with killing than the ratio of oxidant production. Cytochrome c, superoxide dismutase, catalase, dimethyl sulfoxide, and desferrioxamine were used to determine the role of superoxide radical, hydrogen peroxide and hydroxyl radical in the bactericidal process. Hydrogen peroxide was the major bactericidal agent against A. actinomycetemcomitans. Superoxide anion participated in killing of A. actinomycetemcomitans to varying but lesser degrees. The intracellular generation of hydroxyl radical was implicated in the killing of several strains. We conclude that (i) strains of A. actinomycetemcomitans are differentially sensitive to the bactericidal effects of the X-XO system and (ii) of the oxidants produced by the X-XO system, hydrogen peroxide is the most bactericidal against A. actinomycetemcomitans.

Aggregatibacter actinomycetemcomitans↗
PubMed1995

An antiserum to a synthetic fimbrial peptide of Actinobacillus actinomycetemcomitans blocked adhesion of the microorganism.

The purpose of this study is to certify the importance of the fimbriae as an attachment factor of Actinobacillus actinomycetemcomitans, a human periodontopathic bacterium, and the significance of anti-fimbrial antibody function as an attachment inhibitor. Fimbrial antigen was prepared from the A. actinomycetemcomitans 310-a strain. Oligopeptides were synthesized according to the amino acid sequence of the fimbrial protein. The peptide antigen was conjugated with branched lysine polymer resin beads. The peptide antigen was suspended in PBS emulsified with incomplete Freund's adjuvant and used to immunize rabbits. A rabbit antiserum reacted with an approximately 54 kDa protein of the fimbriae protein from A. actinomycetemcomitans 310-a and with those of other fimbriated strains. This antiserum strongly inhibited the attachment of fimbriated A. actinomycetemcomitans strains to saliva-coated hydroxyapatite beads, buccal epithelial cells, and a fibroblast cell line, Gin-1. Such a synthetic fimbrial peptide antigen may be effective in inducing antibodies which inhibit adhesion and subsequent colonization by A. actinomycetemcomitans.

Aggregatibacter actinomycetemcomitans↗
PubMed1996

[Purification of serotype d-- and e--specific antigens from Actinobacillus actinomycetemcomitans and seroclassification of clinical isolates from periodontal patients].

Oral Actinobacillus actinomycetemcomitans strains have been classified into five serotypes. The aim of this study was to determine the compositions of A. actinomycetemcomitans serotype d- and e- specific antigens. The serodistribution of clinical isolates from the patients with periodontitis were also investigated. Serotype-specific polysaccharide antigens of A. actinomycetemcomitans IDH 781 (serotype d) and OMZ 534 (serotype e) were extracted from whole cells by autoclaving. The extracts were purified by chromatography on DEAE-Sepharose CL-6B and Sephacryl S-300HR columns. The serotype d antigen was composed of rhamnose (17.1%), mannose (45.5%), galactose (2.0%) and glucose (35.5%). On the other hand, the serotype e antigen was composed of rhamnose (23.9%), mannose (29.1%), galactose (11.0%), glucose (13.5%) and unidentified sugar (22.5%). Immunodiffusion tests revealed that the purified polysaccharide antigen form a single precipitin line with the corresponding rabbit antiserum. A total of 157 A. actinomycetemcomitans clinical isolates from diseased sites of 39 patients with periodontitis were serotyped by using serotype-specific rabbit antisera against A. actinomycetemcomitans serotype a, b, c, d and e strains. In the immunodiffusion assay, the autoclaved extracts of 42, 12, 34, 8 and 41 A. actinomycetemcomitans clinical isolates reacted with serotype a, b, c, d and e antisera, respectively. These findings indicate that the extraction of serotype antigens by autoclaving is useful and definite for the serotyping of A. actinomycetemcomitans clinical isolates.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1995

Mutational analysis of the putative leukotoxin transport genes in Actinobacillus actinomycetemcomitans.

The periodontal pathogen, Actinobacillus actinomycetemcomitans, produces leukotoxin, a protein that specifically lyses host defense cells. The leukotoxin is similar in sequence and operon organization to the Escherichia coli alpha-hemolysin and other members of the RTX family of toxins. However, unlike the other RTX toxins, the A. actinomycetemcomitans leukotoxin is not secreted from the cell and instead remains associated with the outer membrane. Nonetheless, the A. actinomycetemcomitans Ikt operon contains two genes, IktB and IktD, that appear analagous to the toxin localization genes found in the other Gram-negative bacteria. Thus, to determine the roles of these putative transport genes in A. actinomycetemcomitans, we have used insertional mutagenesis to generate mutant strains lacking functional LktB and/or LktD. When either IktD or both IktB and IktD were inactivated, the level of detectable leukotoxin protein in the cell decreased significantly. However, the IktB and IktD mutations had no effect on the levels of leukotoxin RNA. Thus, the lack of LktB and LktD proteins must affect LktA synthesis post-transcriptionally. It is proposed that this is an indirect effect of leukotoxin mislocalization in IktB- and IktD- mutants. Finally, analysis of the mutants revealed that LktB and LktD are not essential for the formation of extracellular membrane vesicles in A. actinomycetemcomitans.

Aggregatibacter actinomycetemcomitans↗
PubMed1996

Differential regulation of the leukotoxin operon in highly leukotoxic and minimally leukotoxic strains of Actinobacillus actinomycetemcomitans.

The expression of the leukotoxin (ltx) operon varies significantly among Actinobacillus actinomycetemcomitans strains. The dual promoters driving ltx expression in the highly toxic strain JP2 have been previously characterized (J. M. Brogan, E. T. Lally, K. Poulsen, M. Kilian, and D. R. Demuth, Infect. Immun. 62:501-508, 1994), and genetic analyses of A. actinomycetemcomitans suggest that highly toxic strains like JP2 arose from minimally toxic strains, presumably by deletion of a 530-bp domain within the ltx promoter region (K. Poulsen, E. Theilade, E.T. Lally, D. R. Demuth, and M. Kilian, Microbiology 140:2049-2060, 1994). However, the ltx promoter of minimally toxic A. actinomycetemcomitans strains has not been well characterized. In this study, deletion and primer extension analyses showed that the ltx promoter of A. actinomycetemcomitans 652 is situated approximately 150 bp upstream of the ltxC gene and initiates transcription 138 nucleotides upstream of ltxC. In contrast to strain JP2, only a single promoter appears to drive ltx expression in 652. The 652 promoter resides within the 530-bp region that is absent from the JP2 promoter sequence, suggesting that the specific sequences controlling ltx expression differ in highly toxic and minimally toxic A. actinomycetemcomitans strains. In addition, ltx expression in strain 652 was shown to be induced three- to fourfold when cells were grown under anaerobic conditions. The induction of whole cell leukotoxicity, was accompanied by increases in the levels of Ltx polypeptide and the steady-state levels of ltx mRNA, suggesting that regulation occurred at the level of transcription. In contrast, the levels of leukotoxicity, Ltx polypeptide, and fix mRNA in strain JP2 were unaffected by anaerobic growth. These results suggest that the ltx operon is differentially regulated in highly toxic and minimally toxic A. actinomycetemcomitans strains and that the sequences controlling the oxygen-dependent regulation of ltx expression may reside within the 530-bp domain that is not present in highly toxic A. actinomycetemcomitans.

Aggregatibacter actinomycetemcomitans↗
PubMed2005

Characterization of immunoaffinity purified peptidoglycan-associated lipoprotein of Actinobacillus actinomycetemcomitans.

Peptidoglycan-associated lipoprotein (PAL) is a highly conserved structural outer membrane protein among Gram-negative bacteria. In some species, it is proinflammatory and released extracellularly. We purified a newly identified PAL (AaPAL) of a periodontal pathogen Actinobacillus actinomycetemcomitans by using AaPAL antipeptide antibodies coupled to immunoaffinity chromatography column. No protein impurities originating in A. actinomycetemcomitans were found in the final product. Sera from patients infected by A. actinomycetemcomitans recognized the purified AaPAL. The present purification method seems to be suitable for isolation of AaPAL and probably PALs of other bacterial species, and applicable in studies investigating proinflammatory mechanisms of A. actinomycetemcomitans.

Aggregatibacter actinomycetemcomitans↗
PubMed2003

Type IV pilus gene homologs pilABCD are required for natural transformation in Actinobacillus actinomycetemcomitans.

Some clinical isolates of the gram-negative periodontal pathogen Actinobacillus actinomycetemcomitans are naturally competent for DNA uptake. In this study, we examined the sequence and the function of a type IV pilus-like pilABCD gene cluster and its downstream region in a naturally transformable A. actinomycetemcomitans strain D7S. Specific knockout mutants of pilABCD of strain D7S were constructed by replacing individual genes with an antibiotic resistance cassette. The transformation frequency of chromosome markers in the wildtype strain D7S was approximately 10(-3) per CFU. In contrast, the delta pilA, delta pilB, delta pilC, delta pilBC or delta pilD mutants were non-transformable (transformation frequency <10(-8)). Disruption of an ORF downstream of pilD had no apparent effect on the transformability of this bacterium. The pilA or pilBC deletion did not seem to affect fimbria expression or cell surface structure in either rough or smooth strains as determined by scanning and transmission electron microscopy examinations. RT-PCR analysis showed that pilA was expressed in strain D7S under a competence-inducing growth condition. The expression of pilA was barely detectable in strain D7S cultured under a non-competence-inducing condition or in the non-transformable strain JP-2. The results indicate that pilABCD are required for competence but are apparently not involved in fimbria expression of A. actinomycetemcomitans.

Aggregatibacter actinomycetemcomitans↗
PubMed2006

Genomic distribution and functions of uptake signal sequences in Actinobacillus actinomycetemcomitans.

Actinobacillus actinomycetemcomitans is naturally competent for transformation, with a transformation system similar to that of Haemophilus influenzae that preferentially takes up DNA bearing uptake signal sequences (USS) with the same 9-base USS core. This study examined the function of the extended 29-base USS, which comprises a highly conserved 1st region (containing the 9-base core) and 2nd and 3rd semi-conserved AT-rich regions, in transformation of A. actinomycetemcomitans. Transformation frequency was not affected by either location (in middle or at 5' end) or quantity (one or two) of USS in donor DNA. Relative transformation efficiencies (in comparison to the positive control) were 28-67 % for linear DNA with single-base mutations in the USS 1st region, and 47 % and 73 %, respectively, for linear DNA with USS that contained either a non-consensus 2nd or a non-consensus 3rd region. Plasmids with a stand-alone 1st or a stand-alone 2nd-3rd region exhibited 21 % and 6 % relative transformation efficiencies, respectively. It was also noted that A. actinomycetemcomitans and H. influenzae were similar in the frequencies and distribution patterns of USS in their genomes. In conclusion, all three regions of the extended 29-base USS are required for optimum transformation in A. actinomycetemcomitans.

Aggregatibacter actinomycetemcomitans↗
PubMed1995

Immunoglobulin G subclass response of juvenile periodontitis subjects to principal outer membrane proteins of Actinobacillus actinomycetemcomitans.

The cell envelope of Actinobacillus actinomycetemcomitans includes a number of outer membrane proteins (OMPs) which appear to be important targets for immunoglobulin G (IgG) antibodies in sera from localized juvenile periodontitis (LJP) patients. In this study, we examined the subclass distribution of IgG antibodies reactive to the 16.6- and 29-kDa OMPs of A. actinomycetemcomitans in sera from LJP patients and periodontally healthy individuals. Antibody responses were determined in a quantitative enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay that employed human IgG subclass-restricted monoclonal antibodies. High-titer LJP sera (93% black; geometric mean titer, 32,673) were found to contain significantly elevated levels of IgG1, IgG2, and IgG3 antibodies to the 29-kDa OMP of A. actinomycetemcomitans, compared with those of low-titer LJP sera (mean titer, 1,421) and sera from periodontally healthy, race-matched control subjects. The concentration of IgG2 antibody to this protein was greater than or equal to the corresponding IgG1 concentration in 7 of 14 high-titer sera, although mean IgG1 and IgG2 concentrations were not significantly different. The concentrations of IgG1 and IgG2 antibodies to the 16.6-kDa protein were also significantly elevated in LJP sera, although of considerably lesser magnitude than that observed for the 29-kDa protein. The IgG2 response to the 29-kDa protein could not be attributed to the presence of IgG2 antibodies to lipopolysaccharide contaminants or to Fc-binding activity, nor does this molecule appear to be a glycoprotein. Hence, LJP subjects produce IgG2 antibodies, as well as IgG1 and IgG3 antibodies, directed to at least one of the major OMPs of A. actinomycetemcomitans.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1999

Identification of genes coding for exported proteins of Actinobacillus actinomycetemcomitans.

Random fusions of genomic DNA fragments to a partial gene encoding a signal sequence-deficient bacterial alkaline phosphatase were utilized to screen for exported proteins of Actinobacillus actinomycetemcomitans in Escherichia coli. Twenty-four PhoA(+) clones were isolated and sequenced. Membrane localization signals in the form of signal sequences were deduced from most of these sequences. Several of the deduced amino acid sequences were found to be homologous to known exported or membrane-associated proteins. The complete genes corresponding to two of these sequences were isolated from an A. actinomycetemcomitans lambda phage library. One gene was found to be homologous to the outer membrane lipoprotein LolB. The second gene product had homology with a Haemophilus influenzae protein and was localized to the inner membrane of A. actinomycetemcomitans.

Aggregatibacter actinomycetemcomitans↗
PubMed2000

impA, a gene coding for an inner membrane protein, influences colonial morphology of Actinobacillus actinomycetemcomitans.

Directed mutagenesis of a gene coding for a membrane protein of the periodontopathogen Actinobacillus actinomycetemcomitans was achieved by conjugation. The gene was disrupted by insertion of an antibiotic cassette into a unique endonuclease restriction sequence engineered by inverse PCR. The disrupted gene was cloned into a conjugative plasmid and transferred from Escherichia coli to A. actinomycetemcomitans. The allelic replacement mutation resulted in the loss of a 22-kDa inner membrane protein. The loss of this protein (ImpA) resulted in changes in the outer membrane protein composition of the bacterium. Concurrent with the mutation in impA was a change in the pattern of growth of the mutant bacteria in broth cultures. The progenitor bacteria grew as a homogeneous suspension of cells compared to a granular, autoaggregating adherent cell population described for the mutant bacteria. These data suggest that ImpA may play a regulatory role or be directly involved in protein(s) that are exported and associated with colony variations in A. actinomycetemcomitans.

Aggregatibacter actinomycetemcomitans↗