“Some of the proteins we previously thought were important when they were expressed in the lab proved not to be when the organism is in an environment that mimics the oral cavity,?Lamont said.
To put it simply, the behavior, or protein expression, of the organism when it’s at work in the human mouth is very different from its behavior when it’s vacationing in a Petri dish.
“An organism growing in a lab isn’t causing disease,?Lamont said. “It’s an organism that’s in your gums, your lungs, your heart valves, your arteries causing disease.?/p>
The next step will be to expose P. gingivalis to other oral pathogens to determine what interactions may exist that contribute to infection, he said.
“This study is important in that we now have an understanding of the protein expression on a global scale for this pathogen,?Lamont said. “Now we need to see how it adapts to various situations present in the mouth to cause disease.?/p>
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Source:University Of Florida Health Science Center