Cell-cell Interactions Oral Actinomyces /Other Bacteria

我们的重点是接触诱导的基因表达在口腔链球菌和这些细菌，口腔放线菌和其他口腔细菌的生物膜社区的空间组织。牙菌斑是一种生物膜群落，其特征在于口腔细菌之间以及细菌与人体口腔组织之间的复杂且高度组织化的相互作用。这项计划的重点是已知是新清洁牙齿表面的早期定居者的细菌。它们代表了生物膜中细菌活性的重要部分，该生物膜在唾液涂覆的玻璃表面上的体外前4至8小时内形成，并且在可移除的人牙釉质芯片上的体内形成。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，包括早期定植者，晚期定植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。该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粘附分子，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及其与牙菌斑的时空发育和建立以及宿主上皮细胞的定植的关系。

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.