Cell-cell Interactions Oral Actinomyces /Other Bacteria

我们的研究重点是口腔链球菌接触诱导的基因表达，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。牙菌斑是一种生物膜群落，其特征是口腔细菌之间以及细菌与人体口腔组织之间复杂而高度组织化的相互作用。这项倡议的重点是已知的细菌，这些细菌是刚清洁过的牙齿表面的早期殖民者。它们代表了生物膜中细菌活性的重要部分，这些生物膜是在体外唾液涂层玻璃表面上形成的，在体内是在可拆卸的人类牙釉质芯片上形成的。我们也在研究口腔梭杆菌，因为它们与各种各样的口腔细菌相互作用，包括早期定植菌，晚期定植菌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展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.