Porphyromonas gingivalis Type 9 Secretion System Promotes Dysregulation of Vascular Smooth Muscle Cell Plasticity With Perturbed TGF-β/Smad Signaling.

ABSTRACT: The Porphyromonas gingivalis type 9 secretion system (T9SS) is known for secreting and anchoring protein cargos to the outer surface of the bacterium, which are then selectively packaged into outer membrane vesicles. We previously identified a link between P. gingivalis-mediated dysregulated aortic smooth muscle cell (AoSMC) plasticity with binding of T9SS outer protein, PorU and select T9SS cargos to AoSMC proteins. To assess the role of T9SS in dysregulated AoSMC plasticity, a PorU-deficient mutant was constructed in P. gingivalis strain A7UF. AoSMC was inoculated with sterile vehicle, wild-type A7UF, or A7UFΔPorU and evaluated for proliferation, migration, and changes in the TGF-β/Smad2/3 signaling axis. Deletion of PorU disrupted T9SS function in P. gingivalis A7UF. Loss of T9SS functi

SUBMITTER: Phillips PL 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12541887 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Oct

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature