title: Streptococcus anginosus l-cysteine desulfhydrase gene expression is associated with abscess formation in BALB/c mice.
abstract: Streptococcus anginosus, an anginosus group bacterium, is frequently isolated from odontogenic abscesses, and is the oral bacterium that is primarily responsible for producing hydrogen sulfide from l-cysteine through the action of its l-cysteine desulfhydrase (βC-S lyase) enzyme. However, the relationship between its production of hydrogen sulfide and abscess formation has not been investigated. To elucidate the etiological role of hydrogen sulfide in abscess formation, we initially measured, using specific primers, expression of the lcd gene, which encodes βC-S lyase, in the pus of abscesses that formed in BALB/c mice following subcutaneous injection of S. anginosus into the dorsa. Expression of lcd was >15-fold higher when l-cysteine was present than when it was absent. A mouse virulence assay revealed that the mean diameter of abscesses caused by S. anginosus FW73 plus l-cysteine was greater than that of abscesses caused by S. anginosus FW73 in the absence of l-cysteine. These findings demonstrate that the lcd gene of S. anginosus is upregulated in mouse abscesses and that hydrogen sulfide, the product of a reaction catalyzed by βC-S lyase, plays an etiological role in odontogenic abscess formation.
authors.affiliation: Division of Community Oral Health Science, Kyushu Dental College, Kitakyushu, Japan.
authors.forename: Y
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Takahashi
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Yoshida
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Nagata
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Hoshino
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Oho
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Awano
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Takehara
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Ansai
mesh_terms: D000038:Abscess / Q000201:enzymology* / Q000209:etiology; D000818:Animals; D001426:Bacterial Proteins / Q000235:genetics; D001431:Bacteriological Techniques; D003542:Cystathionine gamma-Lyase / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D003545:Cysteine / Q000378:metabolism; D027081:DNA Gyrase / Q000235:genetics; D015971:Gene Expression Regulation, Enzymologic / Q000235:genetics; D006801:Humans; D006862:Hydrogen Sulfide / Q000378:metabolism; D051379:Mice; D008807:Mice, Inbred BALB C; D020133:Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction; D017192:Skin Diseases, Bacterial / Q000382:microbiology; D013290:Streptococcal Infections / Q000201:enzymology*; D034366:Streptococcus anginosus / Q000201:enzymology* / Q000472:pathogenicity; D013492:Suppuration; D014059:Tongue / Q000382:microbiology; D015854:Up-Regulation; D014774:Virulence
chemical_list: D001426:Bacterial Proteins; D003542:Cystathionine gamma-Lyase; D027081:DNA Gyrase; D003545:Cysteine; D006862:Hydrogen Sulfide