IMMUNOGENICITY OF FIMBRILLIN FROM B. GINGIVALIS

对细菌感染的特异性免疫反应已被证明是 包括产生定向的细胞和体液免疫 对抗细菌抗原。这些免疫效应器的激活 机制是通过诱导性T细胞与 免疫效应细胞，B细胞、T细胞或巨噬细胞。 严重的成人牙周病是一种疾病，其特征是 不能解决由病原体或病原体感染的 牙周边缘和牙周组织会导致慢性牙周炎 破坏性免疫反应。牙龈拟杆菌，黑色 色素性革兰氏阴性菌，已被认为是主要涉案细菌之一 严重成人牙周病的致病因素。这项建议 描述了研究T细胞的性质和特异性的研究 沙门氏菌菌毛的构成蛋白fimbrins对淋巴细胞的反应 牙龈假单胞菌381株。 T细胞识别抗原提呈细胞上的抗原为多肽 与主要组织相容性编码的自身分子相关 复杂。因此，整个BG、细菌菌毛或 将分析纯化的芬布林分子，以及影响Fimbrins分子的因素 比较了这些分子的免疫原性。小分子合成肽 将产生牙龈假单胞菌381菌株的芬布林分子 根据从克隆的fimbrins基因预测的氨基酸序列， 这些多肽将被分析以识别特定的氨基酸 芬布林分子上的酸序列，即表位，它能诱导 T淋巴细胞的免疫应答。T细胞反应的本质 将分析其对MHC连接的免疫表位的特异性 分子，其产生的炎性和体液淋巴因子，以及其 对BG、Fimbrae或fimbrins抗原的反应能力 不同的抗原提呈细胞。了解以下因素： 苯布林对免疫原性表位免疫应答的影响 显著提高我们对T细胞如何应对细菌的理解 体内的抗原，并将有助于设计更好的免疫学方法 到牙周病的治疗。

The specific immune response to bacterial infections have been shown to involve the generation of both cellular and humoral immunity directed against bacterial antigens. The activation of these immunologic effector mechanisms is accomplished by the interaction of inducer T cells with immunologic effector cells, either B cells, T cells, or macrophages. Severe adult Periodontal disease is a disorder characterized by the inability to resolve the infection by a pathogen or pathogens within the gingival margins and the periodontium which results in a chronic destructive immunologic response. Bacteroides Gingivalis, a black pigmented gram negative bacteria, has been implicated as one of the major causative agents in severe adult periodontal disease. This proposal describes studies that investigate the nature and specificity of T lymphocyte response to fimbrillin, the constitutive protein of fimbriae of B. Gingivalis strain 381. T cells recognize antigen on antigen-presenting cells as peptides associated with self-molecules encoded by the Major Histocompatibility Complex. Therefore, the immunogenicity of whole Bg, bacterial fimbrae, or purified fimbrillin molecules will be analyzed, and factors influencing the immunogenicity of these molecules compared. Small -synthetic peptides of the fimbrillin molecule from B. Gingivalis strain 381 will be generated based on the predicted amino acid sequence from the cloned fimbrillin gene, and these peptides will be analyzed in order to identify specific amino acid sequences, i.e. epitopes, on the fimbrillin molecule which induce immunologic responses in T lymphocytes. The nature of the T cell response to immunologic epitopes will be analyzed for its specificity for MHC-linked molecules, its production of inflammatory and humoral lymphokines, and its ability to respond to Bg, fimbrae, or fimbrillin antigen on a variety of different antigen presenting cells. Understanding the factors which influence the immune response to immunogenic epitopes on fimbrillin will significantly enhance our understanding of how T cells respond to bacterial antigens in .vivo, and will aid in designing better immunologic -approaches to the treatment of periodontal disease.