Iron/hemin transport systems of Porphyromonas gingivalis

Funding Activity

Website
http://purl.org/au-research/grants/nhmrc/145831

Funding Status
Closed

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Funded Activity Summary

Periodontitis is a bacterial-associated disease of the supporting structures of the teeth and can result in tooth loss. The disease is classified as a major public health problem with an enormous economic burden. A bacterium, Porphyromonas gingivalis, has now been implicated as a major causative agent of periodontitis in adults. To survive and grow within humans pathogenic bacteria must be able to acquire essential elements, including iron. The human host has developed a variety of mechanisms to restrict the amount of iron available as a means of limiting the growth of bacterial pathogens. In response to this iron limitation Porphyromonas gingivalis has developed novel ways of obtaining this essential element. We have identified a novel iron transport system that P. gingivalis uses to obtain iron from the human host. A component of this transport system, FetB is a surface protein antigen. The aims of this project are to: i. Determine the mechanism by which this novel iron transport system functions by genetic manipulation of the organism using molecular biology techniques. ii. Determine how important this transport system is for the pathogenicity of the bacterium. iii. Prepare the FetB protein using recombinant DNA technology. iv. Test the recombinant FetB protein and another iron transport protein (Tlr) in animal models to determine their efficacy as a vaccine for periodontitis. The expected outcomes of this research are:- i. the understanding of how P. gingivalis transports iron. ii. an understanding of the importance of iron transport systems to the pathogenicity of the bacterium. iii. a P. gingivalis vaccine with efficacy in animals based on an iron transport protein(s).

Funded Activity Details

Start Date: 01-01-2001

End Date: 01-01-2003

Funding Scheme: NHMRC Project Grants

Funding Amount: $392,036.00

Funder: National Health and Medical Research Council

Research Topics

ANZSRC Field of Research (FoR)

Medical physiology not elsewhere classified

ANZSRC Socio-Economic Objective (SEO)

There are no SEO codes available for this funding activity

Other Keywords

Adult periodontitis | Alveolar bone resorption | Bacterial pathogen | Cardiovascular disease | Chronic inflammation | Immunoreactivity | Iron and hemin utilization | Membrane transport | Pre-term birth | Protein expression

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