Highly specific protease-based approach for detection of porphyromonas gingivalis in diagnosis of periodontitis.

ABSTRACT: Porphyromonas gingivalis is associated with the development of periodontitis. Here we describe the development of a highly specific protease-based diagnostic method for the detection of P. gingivalis in gingival crevicular fluid. Screening of a proteolytic peptide substrate library, including fluorogenic dipeptides that contain d-amino acids, led to the discovery of five P. gingivalis-specific substrates. Due to the presence of lysine and arginine residues in these substrates, it was hypothesized that the cleavage was mediated by the gingipains, a group of P. gingivalis-specific proteases. This hypothesis was confirmed by the observation that P. gingivalis gingipain knockout strains demonstrated clearly impaired substrate cleavage efficacy. Further, proteolytic activity on the substrates w

SUBMITTER: Kaman WE 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3256702 | biostudies-literature | 2012 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature