Expression cloning of a periodontitis-associated apoptotic effector, cagE homologue, in Actinobacillus actinomycetemcomitans.

To study anti-bacterial immunity and to identify critical bacterial antigens associated with specific periodontal infection, we screened the genomic library of Actinobacillus actinomycetemcomitans, a major Gram(-) anaerobe causing human periodontitis, by expression cloning using disease-associated periodontal CD4(+)T cells derived from HuPBL-engrafted NOD/SCID mice. Here, we report one of the novel genes identified and designated, cagE homologue (in short: cagE) of A. actinomycetemcomitans, which encodes a putative bacterial type IV secretion system with significant homology to Helicobacter pylori CagE and Agrobacterium tumefaciens VirB4. All serum samples from A. actinomycetemcomitans-infected periodontitis patients, but not from the healthy controls, readily recognized CagE by ELISA and Western blot, suggesting its biological and clinical significance. The CagE protein, upon secretion, elicited significant apoptosis on primary human epithelia, endothelia, osteoblasts, and T cells by 4-12h in vitro. Importantly, both cagE(-) mutant strain and N-terminus truncated CagE protein drastically reduced (p<0.001) the induction of apoptosis on human epithelia in vitro. These data strongly suggest that a novel effector protein, CagE in A. actinomycetemcomitans, induces apoptosis of human cells and destructive immunity, thereby it may play an important role in the pathogenesis of A. actinomycetemcomitans-mediated infections.