title: Highly toxic clone of Actinobacillus actinomycetemcomitans in geographically widespread cases of juvenile periodontitis in adolescents of African origin.
abstract: The bacterium Actinobacillus actinomycetemcomitans has been implicated in the pathogenesis of juvenile periodontitis as the etiologic agent on the basis of several lines of circumstantial evidence. A matter of extensive debate is whether A. actinomycetemcomitans is an exogenous contagious pathogen or an opportunistic pathogen that resides in the normal oral microflora. Here we show evidence of a single clone of A. actinomycetemcomitans isolated from multiple patients with juvenile periodontitis in members of families of African origin living in geographically widespread areas. The clone is characterized by a 530-bp deletion in the leukotoxin gene operon, resulting in a significantly increased production of leukotoxin.
authors: Department of Oral Biology, University of Aarhus, Denmark.
authors: D
authors: D
authors: Haubek
authors: K
authors: K
authors: Poulsen
authors: J
authors: J
authors: Westergaard
authors: G
authors: G
authors: Dahlèn
authors: M
authors: M
authors: Kilian
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000349:Africa / Q000208:ethnology; D016976:Aggregatibacter actinomycetemcomitans / Q000235:genetics* / Q000302:isolation & purification / Q000472:pathogenicity*; D010520:Aggressive Periodontitis / Q000382:microbiology*; D001427:Bacterial Toxins / Q000235:genetics; D001483:Base Sequence; D002648:Child; D017931:DNA Primers / Q000235:genetics; D004269:DNA, Bacterial / Q000235:genetics / Q000302:isolation & purification; D003718:Denmark; D004641:Emigration and Immigration; D005098:Exotoxins / Q000235:genetics; D005798:Genes, Bacterial; D006801:Humans; D009876:Operon; D017384:Sequence Deletion; D013548:Sweden
chemical_list: D001427:Bacterial Toxins; D017931:DNA Primers; D004269:DNA, Bacterial; D005098:Exotoxins; C018579:leukotoxin