Project description:Polyphosphate (polyP) is a ubiquitous and abundant compound found in bacteria, fungi, algae, plant, and animals. Among roles of intracellular polyP in bacteria are resistance and survival in the stationary phase of the growth against stress and stringent condition. Therefore, intracellular polyP is considered as a virulence factor of bacteria. In contrast, exogenous polyP has an antimicrobial activity against a variety of microorganisms. To date, much has been numerous studies of antibacterial effect of polyP against gram positive bacteria and fungi while relatively little reports have been published concerning gram negative bacteria. Here we describe bactericidal effect of polyP against gram negative periodontopathic bacterium, Porphyromonas gingivalis, and the transcriptional change by polyP in this bacterium. The bacterial growth was inhibited by polyP (chain length of P3~P75) at concentration of 0.02~0.03%, but not by Pi and PPi at the concentrations. polyP75 was chosen for further experiments, which suppressed the further growth of P. gingivalis as low as 0.03%. polyP75 completely killed the bacterial cells at the concentration of 0.035%. Microarray analysis was employed to identify genes that showed a greater than 1.5-fold difference in the expression by polyP75 at the concentration of 0.03%. It was found that 155 genes were up-regulated and 173 were down-regulated. Down-regulated genes include groups of energy metabolism-related genes, cell envelope-related genes, and genes in relation to biosynthesis of cofactors, prosthetic groups and carriers. Among the down-regulated genes were several involved in DNA replication, cell division protein, and biosynthesis of purines, pyrimidines, nucleosides and nucleotides. In contrast, a large number of ribosomal proteins, transciptional regulators and transposases were up-regulated. Oxidative stress-related genes and iron storage proteins also appeared to be increased in the expression. Real-time PCR confirmed up- and down-regulation of some selected genes. The overall results suggest that polyP has a bactericidal activity against P. gingivalis, interfering with translation, energy metabolism, DNA replication, cell division, and biosynthesis of purines, pyrimidines, nucleoside and nucleotides. polyP may be used as an agent for prevention and treatment of periodontal infections. Polyp-treated vs. untreated intensity ratio data linked below as a supplementary file. Keywords: agent response
Project description:Polyphosphate (polyP) is a ubiquitous and abundant compound found in bacteria, fungi, algae, plant, and animals. Among roles of intracellular polyP in bacteria are resistance and survival in the stationary phase of the growth against stress and stringent condition. Therefore, intracellular polyP is considered as a virulence factor of bacteria. In contrast, exogenous polyP has an antimicrobial activity against a variety of microorganisms. To date, much has been numerous studies of antibacterial effect of polyP against gram positive bacteria and fungi while relatively little reports have been published concerning gram negative bacteria. Here we describe bactericidal effect of polyP against gram negative periodontopathic bacterium, Porphyromonas gingivalis, and the transcriptional change by polyP in this bacterium. The bacterial growth was inhibited by polyP (chain length of P3~P75) at concentration of 0.02~0.03%, but not by Pi and PPi at the concentrations. polyP75 was chosen for further experiments, which suppressed the further growth of P. gingivalis as low as 0.03%. polyP75 completely killed the bacterial cells at the concentration of 0.035%. Microarray analysis was employed to identify genes that showed a greater than 1.5-fold difference in the expression by polyP75 at the concentration of 0.03%. It was found that 155 genes were up-regulated and 173 were down-regulated. Down-regulated genes include groups of energy metabolism-related genes, cell envelope-related genes, and genes in relation to biosynthesis of cofactors, prosthetic groups and carriers. Among the down-regulated genes were several involved in DNA replication, cell division protein, and biosynthesis of purines, pyrimidines, nucleosides and nucleotides. In contrast, a large number of ribosomal proteins, transciptional regulators and transposases were up-regulated. Oxidative stress-related genes and iron storage proteins also appeared to be increased in the expression. Real-time PCR confirmed up- and down-regulation of some selected genes. The overall results suggest that polyP has a bactericidal activity against P. gingivalis, interfering with translation, energy metabolism, DNA replication, cell division, and biosynthesis of purines, pyrimidines, nucleoside and nucleotides. polyP may be used as an agent for prevention and treatment of periodontal infections. Polyp-treated vs. untreated intensity ratio data linked below as a supplementary file. Keywords: agent response Twenty μg of each total RNA sample was used in separate hybridization experiments on identical arrays. The whole genome of 1,909 genes of P. gingivalis W83 (GenBank accession no. NC_002950) was submitted to NimbleGen System Inc. (Madison, WI) for microarray design and manufacture using maskless, digital micromirror technology. Five replicates of the genome were included per chip. An average of 19 different 60-base oligonucleotides (60-mer probes) represented each gene in the genome. Sixty-mer probes were selected such that each probe had at least three mismatches compared to all other 60-mers in the target genome. A quality control check (hybridization) was performed for each array, which contained on-chip control oligonucleotides. The arrays were analyzed using an Axon GenePix 4000B microarray scanner with associated software (Molecular Devices Corp., Sunnyvale, CA). Gene expression levels were calculated with NimbleScan Version 2.3 (NimbleGen). Relative signal intensities for each gene were generated using the Robust Multi-Array Average algorithm. The data were processed based on quantile normalization method using the R package. This normalization method aims to make the distribution of intensities for each array in a set of arrays the same. The background-adjusted, normalized, and log transformed intensity values were then analyzed using GeneSpring GX 7.3.1 (Silicon Genetics, Palo Alto, CA).
Project description:UnlabelledThe CRISPR-Cas (clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats/CRISPR-associated genes) system provides prokaryotic cells with an adaptive and heritable immune response to foreign genetic elements, such as viruses, plasmids, and transposons. It is present in the majority of Archaea and almost half of species of Bacteria. Porphyromonas gingivalis is an important human pathogen that has been proven to be an etiological agent of periodontitis and has been linked to systemic conditions, such as rheumatoid arthritis and cardiovascular disease. At least 95% of clinical strains of P. gingivalis carry CRISPR arrays, suggesting that these arrays play an important function in vivo. Here we show that all four CRISPR arrays present in the P. gingivalis W83 genome are transcribed. For one of the arrays, we demonstrate in vivo activity against double-stranded DNA constructs containing protospacer sequences accompanied at the 3' end by an NGG protospacer-adjacent motif (PAM). Most of the 44 spacers present in the genome of P. gingivalis W83 share no significant similarity with any known sequences, although 4 spacers are similar to sequences from bacteria found in the oral cavity and the gastrointestinal tract. Four spacers match genomic sequences of the host; however, none of these is flanked at its 3' terminus by the appropriate PAM element.ImportanceThe CRISPR-Cas (clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats/CRISPR-associated genes) system is a unique system that provides prokaryotic cells with an adaptive and heritable immunity. In this report, we show that the CRISPR-Cas system of P. gingivalis, an important human pathogen associated with periodontitis and possibly also other conditions, such as rheumatoid arthritis and cardiovascular disease, is active and provides protection from foreign genetic elements. Importantly, the data presented here may be useful for better understanding the communication between cells in larger bacterial communities and, consequently, the process of disease development and progression.
Project description:High-density tiling microarray and RNA sequencing technologies were used to analyze the transcriptome of the periodontopathogenic bacterium Porphyromonas gingivalis. The compiled P. gingivalis transcriptome profiles were based on total RNA samples isolated from three different laboratory culturing conditions, and the strand-specific transcription profiles generated covered the entire genome, including both protein coding and noncoding regions. The transcription profiles revealed various operon structures, 5'- and 3'-end untranslated regions (UTRs), differential expression patterns, and many novel, not-yet-annotated transcripts within intergenic and antisense regions. Further transcriptome analysis identified the majority of the genes as being expressed within operons and most 5' and 3' ends to be protruding UTRs, of which several 3' UTRs were extended to overlap genes carried on the opposite/antisense strand. Extensive antisense RNAs were detected opposite most insertion sequence (IS) elements. Pairwise comparative analyses were also performed among transcriptome profiles of the three culture conditions, and differentially expressed genes and metabolic pathways were identified. With the growing realization that noncoding RNAs play important biological functions, the discovery of novel RNAs and the comprehensive transcriptome profiles compiled in this study may provide a foundation to further understand the gene regulation and virulence mechanisms in P. gingivalis. The transcriptome profiles can be viewed at and downloaded from the Microbial Transcriptome Database website, http://bioinformatics.forsyth.org/mtd.
Project description:Periodontitis and infections with periodontal bacteria have been highlighted as risk factors for dementia. In recent years attention has been drawn to the role of microglia cells in neurodegenerative diseases. However, there is limited knowledge of the influence of periodontal bacteria on microglia cells. The aim of the present study was to investigate the interactions between the periodontal bacteria P. gingivalis and microglia cells, and to unravel if these interactions could contribute to Alzheimer’s pathology. Periodontitis and infections with periodontal bacteria have been highlighted as risk factors for dementia. In recent years attention has been drawn to the role of microglia cells in neurodegenerative diseases. However, there is limited knowledge of the influence of periodontal bacteria on microglia cells. The aim of the present study was to investigate the interactions between the periodontal bacteria P. gingivalis and microglia cells, and to unravel if these interactions could contribute to Alzheimer’s pathology. We found, through microarray analysis, that stimulation of microglia cells with P. gingivalis resulted in upregulation of several Alzheimer´s disease associated genes, including NOX4. We also showed that P. gingivalis LPS mediated ROS production and IL-6 and IL-8 induction via NOX4 in microglia. The viability of neurons was shown to be reduced by conditioned media from microglia cells stimulated with P. gingivalis LPS, and that the reduction was NOX4 dependent. The levels of total and phosphorylated Tau in neurons were increased by conditioned media from microglia cells stimulated with P. gingivalis or LPS. This increase was NOX4 dependent. In summary our findings give us a potential mechanistic explanation of how the periodontal pathogen P. gingivalis could trigger or exacerbate AD pathogenesis.