Abstract
Using a PCR method, we detected periodontopathic microorganisms in inflamed gingival tissues from patients with adult periodontitis, which included the four fimA genotypes(types I to IV) of Porphyromonas gingivalis (P. gingivalis), as well as Treponema denticola (T. denticola), Bacteroides forsythus (B. forsythus), Prevotella intermedia (P. intermedia), and, Actinobacillus actinomycetemcomitans (A. actinomycetemcomitans). The inflamed tissues were taken during periodontalflap operations, while subgingival plaque samples at the same site were collected just prior to the operation or, in some cases, during the maintenance period. Our results indicated that all of the microbes examined in this study were detected in the gingival tissue samples. In particular, P. gingivalis, T denticola, and B. forsythus were frequently detected (100%, 81.4%, and 64.3%, respectively). Similar results were obtained from the plaque samples taken just before the operation, suggesting that all of these microbes areable to exist in inflamed gingival tissues. As for the distribution of the four fimA genotypes of P. gingivalis, type II was most frequently detected in gingival tissues, followed by a co-existent combination of types I and II.
During the maintenance phase, the distribution of most of the microbes in the plaque samples decreased significantly. As for the four fimA genotypes of P. gingivalis, the positive rate of type II decreased markedly, when compared to just before the operation.
These results indicate that P. gingivalis type II fimA is predominant in the gingival tissues of periodontitis patients, suggesting it could play an important role in the onset and/or progression of adult periodontitis. J. Jpn. Soc. Periodontol., 43: 33-42, 2001.
