Nucleic acid amplification techniques are used to characterize bacteria that are difficult to culture. Chlamydia pneumoniae (C.p.) is an obligate Gram negative intracellular parasite that has been isolated from monocytes, macrophages and endothelial cells of humans. In addition to being identified in the respiratory tract, C.p. has also been isolated from affected tissues of atherosclerotic lesions. Thus, we were interested in determining whether C.p. may be present in the oral cavity. Objectives: The objective of this study was to assess the presence of C.p. in oral specimens from adults with chronic periodontitis. Methods: Three distinct oral specimens from multiple sites were examined for each of seven subjects. Epithelial specimens were collected by brush from the lining of the periodontal pockets, squamous epithelial specimens were collected by brush from the oral buccal mucosa, and subgingival dental plaque specimens were collected by curette. For each of these 21 pooled specimens, total nucleic acid was isolated and PCR technique was used. Universal primers for the 16S rRNA gene of bacteria served as positive controls and water as negative controls. Two different primer pairs for C.p. were used. One primer pair amplified the 463-bp of the 16S rRNA gene of C.p., and a second primer pair targeted the 333-bp fragment of the C.p. outer membrane protein-1 gene. DNA products were visualized using gel electrophoresis stained with ethidium bromide. Results: Bacterial 16S rRNA gene products were recovered from all adults indicating DNA recovery. The C.p. specific primer pair (16S rRNA) generated product in 3/7 periodontal specimens, 6/7 mucosal specimens, and 4/7 dental plaque specimens. Our positive bands were located at 500-bp and higher. Conclusions: These high proportions of product generated by the Chlamydia pneumoniae primer pair are potentially important and warrant further evaluation by cloning and sequencing.

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