PGGP - Significance 1

This project is collaborated between The Forsyth Institute (TFI) and The Institute for Genomic Research (TIGR), and is funded by National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research (NIDCR)

To the dental research community

At present, more research papers, and more NIDR-funded grants are devoted to P. gingivalis than to other dental pathogens. Twenty-seven NIH grants with a primary focus on P. gingivalis (as of 1996) are listed below. Eleven of these grants are examining vaccine development, fourteen attempt to identify virulence factors, and fifteen are sequencing various P. gingivalis genes. The abstract and other information for each grant listed can be retrieved from the World Wide Web using the CRISP gopher (gopher://gopher.nih.gov/11/res/crisp). Total support for these grants is approximately $3,800,000 per year. A typical R01 to study either P. gingivalis functions directly or their effects on host tissues costs approximately $135,000 per year for 3 years, or approximately $400,000 to isolate and characterize 1 to 5 genes. Clearly by the R01 mechanism, sequencing gene by gene is both costly and time consuming. The NIDR is receptive to whole genome sequencing as a cost effective means for characterizing P. gingivalis and other dental pathogens.

NIH grants with a primary focus on Porphyromonas gingivalis.

Grant number	Investigator	Title	Vaccine	Virulence	Sequencing
K16DE001580010	MC Lynch	Superoxide dismutase in Porphyromonas gingivalis 381		+	+
K16DE002790002	AA Decarlo	Porphyromonas gingivalis activator of collagenolysis			+
R01DE07256	MS Lantz	Fibrinogen binding and virulence of P. gingivalis		+	+
R01DE07496	A Progulske-Fox	Surface antigens of oral Bacteroides species		+	+
R01DE08293	HK Kuramitsu	P gingivalis virulence--molecular genetic analysis		+	+
P01DE08555	RC Page	Humoral immunity and periodontal disease	+
P01DE085550001	RC Page	Humoral immunity and periodontal disease	+
P01DE085550003	R Persson	Humoral immunity and periodontal disease	+
P01DE085550005	RP Darveau	Humoral immunity and periodontal disease	+
R01DE09161	CA Genco	Hemin utilization by P. gingivalis		+	+
R01DE09426	PM Flood	Immunogenicity of fimbrillin from B. gingivalis	+	+
R29DE09439	RJ Lamont	Colonization mechanisms of periodontal pathogens	+		+
R29DE09602	RE Schifferle	B. gingivalis polysaccharides--structure and function	+	+
R29DE09845	JM Novak	P. gingivalis membrane blebs-modulators of PMN function
P50DE103060006	T Bramanti	Porphyromonas gingivalis-fibronectin interactions
R01DE10467	EJ Leys	Molecular & population genetics of periodontal pathogens		+	+
R01DE10510	MJ Duncan	P. gingivalis genes involved in attachment to epithelial cells		+	+
R29DE10607	J Katz	Microbial/host immune regulation in periodontal disease	+
P50DE107030003	FL Macrina	Molecular genetic studies of Porphyromonas gingivalis proteases		+	+
R29DE10728	PJ Baker	Murine host response to Porphyromonas gingivalis
R29DE10861	H Hosseinzadeh	Superantigens in periodontal diseases	+
R03DE10913	MC Roberts	Antibiotic resistance in periodontal pathogens		+	+
R01DE10963	TA Brown	Oral immunization with P. gingivalis virulence antigen	+
R01DE10994	JD Hillman	Isolation and testing of P. gingivalis virulence genes		+	+
R01De11111	RJ Lamont	P. gingivalis interactions with gingival epithelial cells		+	+
R01DE1117	DE Lopatin	Immunodominant stress proteins of P gingivalis		+	+
R03DE11313	TD Connell	A recombinant Porphyromonas gingivalis vaccine	+		+

Porphyromonas gingivalis is clearly implicated in adult forms of periodontitis. This project will produce the sequence of all virulence determinants and protein antigens, potential targets for disease prevention strategies such as vaccine or drug therapies. Periodontal diseases are currently treated primarily by surgery and tooth scaling. The Porphyromonas gingivalis genome project will hasten a switch to antibiotic or vaccine therapies which will change the delivery of periodontal therapy as significantly as the antimicrobial therapy for Helicobacter pylori has changed treatment of gastric ulcers.

This page is created and maintained by Drs. Margaret Duncan, Floyd Dewhirst, and Tsute Chen, Department of Molecular Genetics, The Forsyth Institute .

Last modified on 02/20/2002