7% (3465.55 ± 763 pg/ml) less MIP-2 was measured in the FomA-immunized mice ( Fig. 5C). Besides, CD11b, a prominent marker of inflammatory cells including macrophages was used to further analyze the severity of gum inflammation. A significant decrease in CD11b positive cells in swollen gum was detected in the FomA-immunized mice Akt targets compared to the GFP-immunized mice ( Supplementary Fig. 2). These results clearly demonstrate that vaccines targeting FomA efficiently prevent gum inflammation in mice caused by co-infection of F. nucleatum and P. gingivalis. F. nucleatum is one of the predominant organisms associated with halitosis, and this bacterium produces high levels

of VSCs [7]. The plaque biofilm is considered to be the principle source generating such VSCs [3]. Results in Fig. 1 indicated that co-aggregation of F. nucleatum with P. gingivalis augments biofilm formation. Thus, we next examined if bacterial co-aggregation could increase VSC production and if inhibition of F. nucleatum FomA can efficiently suppress the co-aggregation-induced VSC production. VSC production of F. nucleatum alone, P. gingivalis alone, and F. nucleatum plus P. gingivalis (4 × 109/104 CFU) were detected on lead acetate-contained agar

plates. F. nucleatum (4 × 109 CFU), but not P. gingivalis (104 CFU), produced VSCs ( Fig. 6A). The co-culture of F. nucleatum (4 × 109 CFU) with P. gingivalis (104 CFU) markedly enhanced VSC production ( Fig. why 6A), supporting the hypothesis that bacterial co-aggregation intensifies the emission of VSCs. To explore the involvement of FomA in VSC CAL-101 clinical trial production,

F. nucleatum was neutralized with either anti-FomA or anti-GFP serum [2.5% (v/v)] ( Fig. 3 and Fig. 4) and then co-cultured with P. gingivalis. After treatment with anti-FomA or anti-GFP serum, 104 CFU of P. gingivalis alone was insufficient to produce detectable VSCs although P. gingivalis has been shown to be a VSCs-producing bacterium [31]. The VSC production of F. nucleatum was slightly reduced after treatment with anti-FomA, but not anti-GFP serum ( Fig. 6B). After treatment with anti-GFP serum, co-aggregated F. nucleatum and P. gingivalis retained the capability of producing VSCs. In contrast, bacterial co-aggregation-induced VSC production was entirely suppressed when F. nucleatum was neutralized with anti-FomA serum ( Fig. 6B). This clearly demonstrates the ability of an antibody to FomA to prevent VSC production mediated by bacterial co-aggregation. Co-aggregation initiated by interaction and/or adherence of pathogenic bacteria is often an essential first step in the infectious process. The ability of oral bacteria to interact with one another, or to co-aggregate, may be an important factor in their ability to colonize and function as pathogens in the periodontal pocket [18]P. gingivalis and F.