The role of hagB and hagC in the virulence of Porphyromonas gingivalis and indentifcation of putative novel virulence factors by Transposon-Seq

Abstract

The haemagglutinin genes of P. gingivalis are believed to play an important role in the virulence of the organism. A subset of these genes, namely hagB and hagC, are distinct from the other family members based on nucleotide sequence homology. They encode for proteins whose function in the virulence of P. gingivalis is poorly understood. It has been established that they can act as haemagglutinins and adhesins to human coronary arterial endothelial cells (HCAECs). In addition, HagB has been shown to be highly immunogenic with potential as a vaccine candidate. Their role in interactions with oral cells and oral bacteria has yet to be investigated. One reason for the lack of experimental characterisation is that attempts to generate a ΔhagB/ΔhagC double mutant have been unsuccessful. In this study, both hagB and hagC were deleted to create the first ΔhagB/ΔhagC mutant as well as single and complemented mutants.