title: Vaccination targeting surface FomA of Fusobacterium nucleatum against bacterial co-aggregation: Implication for treatment of periodontal infection and halitosis.
abstract: The mechanical therapy with multiple doses of antibiotics is one of modalities for treatment of periodontal diseases. However, treatments using multiple doses of antibiotics carry risks of generating resistant strains and misbalancing the resident body flora. We present an approach via immunization targeting an outer membrane protein FomA of Fusobacterium nucleatum (F. nucleatum), a central bridging organism in the architecture of oral biofilms. Neutralization of FomA considerably abrogated the enhancement of bacterial co-aggregation, biofilms and production of volatile sulfur compounds mediated by an inter-species interaction of F. nucleatum with Porphyromonas gingivalis (P. gingivalis). Vaccination targeting FomA also conferred a protective effect against co-infection-induced gum inflammation. Here, we advance a novel infectious mechanism by which F. nucleatum co-opts P. gingivalis to exacerbate gum infections. FomA is highlighted as a potential target for development of new therapeutics against periodontal infection and halitosis in humans.
authors.affiliation: Department of Medicine, Division of Dermatology, University of California, San Diego, CA 92161, USA.
authors.forename: Pei-Feng
authors.initials: PF
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.forename: Wenyuan
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Shi
authors.forename: Wenhong
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Zhu
authors.forename: Jeffery W
authors.initials: JW
authors.lastname: Smith
authors.forename: Shie-Liang
authors.initials: SL
authors.lastname: Hsieh
authors.forename: Richard L
authors.initials: RL
authors.lastname: Gallo
authors.forename: Chun-Ming
authors.initials: CM
authors.lastname: Huang
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001422:Bacterial Adhesion / Q000276:immunology; D001425:Bacterial Outer Membrane Proteins / Q000276:immunology*; D018441:Biofilms; D005674:Fusobacterium Infections / Q000628:therapy*; D016967:Fusobacterium nucleatum / Q000276:immunology* / Q000378:metabolism; D006209:Halitosis / Q000628:therapy*; D006801:Humans; D051379:Mice; D008813:Mice, Inbred ICR; D010510:Periodontal Diseases / Q000628:therapy*; D016966:Porphyromonas gingivalis / Q000378:metabolism; D013457:Sulfur Compounds / Q000378:metabolism; D014611:Vaccination / Q000379:methods*
chemical_list: D001425:Bacterial Outer Membrane Proteins; D013457:Sulfur Compounds; C083760:fomA protein, Fusobacterium