Editorial Comments to the Special Issue: "Aggregaterbacter actinomycetemcomitans—Gram-Negative Bacterial Pathogen"

• Aggregatibacter actinomycetemcomitans is a periodontal pathogen colonizing the oral cavity in many individuals of the human population. It is equipped with several potent virulence factors that can cause cell death and induce or evade the host inflammatory response. Both harmless and highly virulent genotypes of the bacterium have emerged because of the large genetic diversity within the species. The oral condition and age, as well as the geographic origin of the individual, influence the risk to be colonized by a virulent genotype of the bacterium. In the present editorial, the different genetic and virulence properties of A. actinomycetemcomitans will be addressed in relation to the publications in this Special Issue.

Subject headings

MEDICIN OCH HÄLSOVETENSKAP  -- Medicinsk bioteknologi (hsv//swe)

MEDICAL AND HEALTH SCIENCES  -- Medical Biotechnology (hsv//eng)

Keyword

Aggregatibacter actinomycetemcomitans

biofilm

cytokine binding factors

cytolethal distending toxin

horizontal gene transfer

leukotoxin

lipopolysaccharides

outer membrane vesicles

proteomics

mikrobiologi

Microbiology

Publication and Content Type

ref (subject category)

art (subject category)