Cell-cell Interactions Oral Actinomyces /Other Bacteria

我们的重点是接触诱导的口腔链球菌的基因表达，以及这些细菌、口腔放线菌和其他口腔细菌在生物膜群落中的空间组织。牙菌斑是一个生物膜群落，其特点是口腔细菌之间以及细菌与人类口腔组织之间存在一系列复杂而有组织的相互作用。这项倡议的中心是已知的细菌，这些细菌是新清洁牙齿表面的早期定居者。它们代表了在体外唾液覆盖的玻璃表面和体内可拆卸的人类釉质芯片上最初四到八小时形成的生物膜中细菌活性的很大一部分。我们还在研究口腔梭菌，因为它们与最广泛的口腔细菌相互作用，包括早期定殖者、晚期定殖者和潜在的牙周病原体，因此被认为是牙菌斑组织的主要贡献者。本项目的总体重点是研究人类口腔生物膜内细菌之间的细胞黏附分子、细胞信号分子、基因表达和基因转移，并将这些事件与细菌群落结构联系起来。我们的长期目标是了解细胞通讯的分子机制，以及它们与牙菌斑的时空发育和建立以及宿主上皮细胞定植的关系。

Our focus is on contact-induced gene expression in oral streptococci and the spatial organization of these bacteria, oral actinomyces and other oral bacteria in biofilm communities. Dental plaque is a biofilm community, which is characterized by a complex and highly organized set of interactions among oral bacteria as well as between bacteria and human oral tissue. This initiative is centered on the bacteria known to be early colonizers of a freshly cleaned tooth surface. They represent a significant portion of the bacterial activity in biofilms formed in the first four to eight hours in vitro on saliva-coated glass surfaces and in vivo on removable human enamel chips. We are also investigating the oral fusobacteria because they interact with the broadest variety of oral bacteria including early colonizers, late colonizers and potential periodontal pathogens and, therefore, are thought to be major contributors to dental plaque organization. The overall focus of this project is to investigate cell adherence molecules, cell signaling molecules, gene expression and gene transfer among bacteria within human oral biofilms and to relate these events to bacterial community architecture. Our long-range goal is to understand the molecular mechanisms of cellular communication and their relationship to the spatiotemporal development and establishment of dental plaque and colonization of the host epithelial cells.