Simultaneous isolation of Actinobacillus actinomycetemcomitans from subgingival and extracrevicular locations of the mouth

Abstract

In the present study, a total of 619 subgingival and extracrevicular samples from 66 early-onset periodontitis, 42 adult periodontitis/gingivitis and 36 treated Actinobacillus actinomycetemcomitans-associated periodontitis patients were selectively cultivated for presence of A. actinomycetemcomitans. The organism was recovered from 68% cases with early-onset periodontitis, 24% cases with adult periodontitis/gingivitis and 50% of treated patients. Associations between recovery from pooled subgingival plaque and samples from extracrevicular locations as well as between different extracrevicular samples, were not heterogeneous with regard to different groups with the exception for cheek/saliva comparisons (odds ratios: early-onset periodontitis 825; adult periodontitis 8.1; treated patients 117; 0.05 < p < 0.1). For associations between recovery of A. actinomycetemcomitans from pooled subgingival plaque/extracrevicular samples, Mantel-Haenszel's odds ratios of between 12.2 and 21.6 were calculated (p < 0.0001). The organism was isolated from 17 cheek mucosa samples of 18 patients identified as still harboring the organism after therapy. Present results point to the considerable value of cheek mucosa samples especially in treated patients to diagnose persistent A. actinomycetemcomitans colonization of the oral cavity.

A Second Aggregatibacter actinomycetemcomitans Autotransporter Adhesin Exhibits Specificity for Buccal Epithelial Cells in Humans and Old World Primates

“…Evidence indicates that the primary reservoir for this organism is the oral cavity of humans (19), although A. actinomycetemcomitans has been isolated as an infectious contaminant from sites distant from the oral cavity in subacute bacterial endocarditis, pneumonia, brain abscesses, and kidney failure (30). In addition to humans and Old World primates, A. actinomycetemcomitans has also been isolated from the oral cavity of cows and rats, which taken together comprise the known natural host range for A. actinomycetemcomitans (4, 7).…”

Antimicrobial Advances in Treating Periodontal Diseases

“…Local therapy presupposes that the infection is limited to the clinically diagnosed lesion. Bacteria typically associated with periodontal lesions can, however, also be detected in clinically unaffected regions of the dentition [2, 3] and non-dental sites, such as the dorsum of the tongue or tonsillar crypts [4][5][6][7][8]. Systemic adverse drug reactions, on the other hand, are a greater concern and more likely to occur if drugs are distributed via the systemic route.…”

The Actinobacillus actinomycetemcomitans Autotransporter Adhesin Aae Exhibits Specificity for Buccal Epithelial Cells from Humans and Old World Primates

“…When tested with human epithelial cells derived from various other anatomical sites, the Aae-expressing strain of E. coli bound to human gingival epithelial cells (3 Ϯ 1 bacterial cells per epithelial cell) but not to human alveolar, bronchial, palatal, tongue, or cervical epithelial cells (Ͻ1 bacterial cell per 100 epithelial cells). It is interesting that E. coli cells expressing Aae did not bind to tongue epithelial cells, although the tongue is the oral site that is most frequently colonized by A. actinomycetemcomitans (2,15). This observation suggests that binding of A. actinomycetemcomitans to tongue epithelium may be mediated by an adhesin other that Aae.…”

“…However, A. actinomycetemcomitans is routinely isolated from mucosal surfaces of predentate children as young as 20 days old (13,20). In adults, A. actinomycetemcomitans is recovered more frequently and in higher numbers from oral mucosal surfaces than from subgingival and supragingival plaque, and mucosal surfaces can have high diagnostic value for identifying individuals colonized by A. actinomycetemcomitans (2,15). These findings suggest that the oral mucosa is the initial site colonized by A. actinomycetemcomitans and the primary reservoir of A. actinomycetemcomitans in the oral cavity.…”