Pao-Li Wang, Mitsuko Shinohara, Noboru Murakawa, Masaki Endo, Shigeki
Sakata, Makoto Okamura and Kiyoshi Ohura
Department of Pharmacology, Osaka Dental University, 8-1 Kuzuhahanazono-cho,
Hirakata 573-1121, Japan
Abstract: We examined the effect of cysteine protease of Porphyromonas
gingivalis (P. gingivalis) on cell adhesion molecules including intercellular
adhesion molecule-1 (ICAM-1), vascular cell adhesion molecule-1 (VCAM-1)
and very late antigen-4 (VLA-4) of human gingival epithelial cells. The
cells were incubated for 48 hr with or without P. gingivalis protease. Their
cell adhesion molecule expression levels were increased at 12 hr, but decreased
at 18 - 48 hr. This result suggests that protease degrades cell adhesion
molecules. After the stimulation with protease for 12 hr, P. gingivalis
fimbrial binding to a monolayer of the cells was effectively inhibited by
the addition of the cell adhesion molecules, suggesting the fimbrial binding
to the cells occurred through cell surface adhesion molecules.
Keywords: Porphyromonas gingivalis protease, Adhesion molecule, Gingival
epithelial