The role of coaggregation between Porphyromonas gingivalis and Fusobacterium nucleatum on the host response to mixed infection.

CONCLUSIONS: The ability of P. gingivalis and F. nucleatum to coaggregate may limit their ability to induce experimental periodontitis in a mixed infection model. Moreover, there is a shift in the phagocytosis pattern of the bacteria with the annulment of coaggregeaiton, with a reduction in F. nucleatum phagocytosis and amplification of P. gingivalis phagocytosis. The increased virulence of the mixed infection without coaggregation may surprisingly lay in the sustention of F. nucleatum in the infected sites.
PMID: 22607053 [PubMed – in process] (Source: Journal of Clinical Periodontology)
MedWorm: Dentistry