title: Characterization of A. actinomycetemcomitans strains in subgingival samples from periodontitis subjects in Morocco.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Aggregatibacter actinomycetemcomitans, specially its highly leucotoxic strain (JP2 clone), represents an etiological factor for the onset and progression of aggressive types of periodontitis. The aims of this investigation were to investigate the most relevant periodontal pathogens in the subgingival microbiota of periodontitis patients from Morocco and to describe the clinical and microbiological characteristics of subjects positive for A. actinomycetemcomitans, including serotype, leukotoxin gene, and operon of the cytolethal distending toxin (cdt) distribution.
  
  
  METHODS
  In consecutive Moroccan subjects diagnosed of periodontitis, subgingival samples were taken and processed by culture. From the positive samples for A. actinomycetemcomitans, one to three isolates were subcultured and characterized by means of polymerase chain reaction (PCR), assessing their specific serotype distribution, the variation in the sequences of the leukotoxin gene, and the operon of the cdt.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Twenty-one (35.6 %) out of 59 periodontitis patients harbored A. actinomycetemcomitans. These patients demonstrated statistically significant deeper pockets (p = 0.035) and higher proportions of P. micra (p = 0.045) than did the negative group. The 39 studied isolates were serotype "b"; in 16 out of 17 patients, there was mono-colonization with this serotype. Five isolates, from two patients, presented the 530-bp deletion in the leukotoxin's promoter region. Thirty-two isolates (78 % of the strains) were cdt-positive.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  A. actinomycetemcomitans was frequently found (35.6 %) in our sample. All strains were serotype "b," and most (78 %) were also cdt-positive. The JP2 strain type was only detected in 12.2 % of the strains.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  A. actinomycetemcomitans can be frequently found in Morocco. This fact can influence the therapeutic approach of this type of patients.
authors.affiliation: Section of Periodontology, Faculty of Odontology, University Complutense, Plaza Ramón y Cajal S/N, 28040, Madrid, Spain.
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Mínguez
authors.affiliation: Clinical Department of Periodontology, Dental School, Mohammed V Souissi University, Rabat, Morocco.
authors.forename: O K
authors.initials: OK
authors.lastname: Ennibi
authors.affiliation: Section of Periodontology, Faculty of Odontology, University Complutense, Plaza Ramón y Cajal S/N, 28040, Madrid, Spain.
authors.forename: X
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Pousa
authors.affiliation: Clinical Department of Periodontology, Dental School, Mohammed V Souissi University, Rabat, Morocco.
authors.forename: L
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Lakhdar
authors.affiliation: Clinical Department of Periodontology, Dental School, Mohammed V Souissi University, Rabat, Morocco.
authors.forename: L
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Abdellaoui
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Research, Faculty of Odontology, University Complutense, Madrid, Spain.
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Sánchez
authors.affiliation: Section of Periodontology, Faculty of Odontology, University Complutense, Plaza Ramón y Cajal S/N, 28040, Madrid, Spain.|ETEP (Etiology and Therapy of Periodontal Diseases) Research Group, University Complutense, Madrid, Spain.
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Sanz
authors.affiliation: Section of Periodontology, Faculty of Odontology, University Complutense, Plaza Ramón y Cajal S/N, 28040, Madrid, Spain. davidher@odon.ucm.es.|ETEP (Etiology and Therapy of Periodontal Diseases) Research Group, University Complutense, Madrid, Spain. davidher@odon.ucm.es.
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Herrera
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D016976:Aggregatibacter actinomycetemcomitans / Q000145:classification / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D002648:Child; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D064307:Microbiota; D008875:Middle Aged; D009018:Morocco; D010518:Periodontitis / Q000382:microbiology*; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction
keywords: Aggregatibacter actinomycetemcomitans; Morocco; Periodontitis; Polymerase chain reaction; Subgingival microbiota