Ans
:after periodontal disease
The bacterium is a major causative agent in the initiation and progression of severe forms of periodontal disease.
P. gingivalis is a late or secondary colonizer of the oral cavity, a process that is facilitated by other microbial species that provide attachment sites, as well as supply growth substrates, and reduce oxygen tension to levels optimal for growth of
P. gingivalis. Among the early plaque organisms that
P. gingivalis adheres to are the oral streptococci (
35,
36) and
Actinomyces naeslundii (
19). Adherence is facilitated by a variety of bacterial surface proteins, including fimbriae, hemagglutinins, and proteinases.
P. gingivalis also binds to late colonizers such as
Fusobacterium nucleatum,
Treponema denticola, and
Bacteroides forsythus (now renamed
Tanerella forsythensis) (
20,
30,
72). The use of a variety of metabolic strategies appears to enable the success of this microbial community. Once established,
P. gingivalis cells participate in intercellular communication networks with other oral prokaryotic cells, as well as with eukaryotic cells (
37).
