Kuramitsu H K
Department of Oral Biology, State University of New York, Buffalo 14214-3092, USA.
Oral Microbiol Immunol. 1998 Oct;13(5):263-70. doi: 10.1111/j.1399-302x.1998.tb00706.x.
The gram-negative anaerobic bacterium Porphyromonas gingivalis has been strongly associated with the causation of human periodontal diseases. One distinguishing property of these organisms that has been implicated in periodontal destruction is the expression of potent protease activity. Recent biochemical and genetic approaches have clearly demonstrated that at least five distinct proteases are elaborated by these organisms. The utilization of monospecific mutants defective in individual proteases has demonstrated that protease activity is important in virulence but also has suggested the complexity of the functions of the enzymes in the physiology of these microorganisms. This review summarizes current progress in assessing the role of these enzymes in periodontal inflammation and discusses some unresolved issues relevant to the significance of P. gingivalis proteases in virulence.
革兰氏阴性厌氧菌牙龈卟啉单胞菌与人类牙周疾病的病因密切相关。这些微生物在牙周组织破坏中所具有的一个显著特性是其具有强大的蛋白酶活性。最近的生化和遗传学研究方法已清楚表明，这些微生物可产生至少五种不同的蛋白酶。利用单个蛋白酶缺陷的单特异性突变体已证明，蛋白酶活性在毒力方面很重要，但也暗示了这些酶在这些微生物生理学功能中的复杂性。本综述总结了评估这些酶在牙周炎症中作用的当前进展，并讨论了与牙龈卟啉单胞菌蛋白酶在毒力方面的重要性相关的一些未解决问题。
