Background: Porphyromonas gingivalis (P. gingivalis) and Fusobacterium nucleatum (F. nucleatum) participate in the formation and progression of periodontitis. They can exert virulence by invading into host cells, but the interaction between them and their specific mechanisms remain unclear. The purpose of this study was to study the effect of P. gingivalis outer membrane vesicles (OMVs) on the ability of F. nucleatum to invade oral epithelial cells, and the reasons for the influence.
Methods: The invasion abilities of the two bacteria were detected separately after mixed infection of P. gingivalis and F. nucleatum. Next, P. gingivalis OMVs were extracted with the kit, and their influence on the invasion ability of F. nucleatum was tested. The effects of P. gingivalis OMVs on F. nucleatum were evaluated by assessment of bacterial morphology, growth curves, auto-aggregation morphology, and the expression of adhesion-related proteins FadA and FomA.
Results: Our results showed that P. gingivalis inhibited the invasion of F. nucleatum into oral epithelial cells but F. nucleatum promoted the invasion of P. gingivalis. In subsequent experiments, we extracted P. gingivalis OMVs successfully and revealed that proteases in P. gingivalis OMVs inhibited the invasion of F. nucleatum into oral epithelial cells. Furthermore, P. gingivalis OMVs did not affect the morphology and proliferation of F. nucleatum, but proteases inside decreased the auto-aggregation of F. nucleatum. Additionally, proteases in P. gingivalis OMVs reduced the expression levels of F. nucleatum surface adhesion-related proteins FadA and FomA.
Conclusion: Our study demonstrated that proteases in P. gingivalis OMVs inhibited the invasion of F. nucleatum into oral epithelial cells by downregulating FadA and FomA.
Keywords: Fusobacterium nucleatum; Porphyromonas gingivalis; invasion ability; oral epithelial cells; outer membrane vesicles.
© 2021 American Academy of Periodontology.