# Transcriptional Regulation of an Aggregatibacter Actinomycetemcomitans Adhesin

> **NIH NIH R21** · UNIVERSITY OF VERMONT & ST AGRIC COLLEGE · 2020 · $234,000

## Abstract

Periodontal disease represents a group of inflammatory diseases, which lead to the destruction
of the gingiva and the supporting structures of the teeth. The loss of tissue results from an
imbalance of the host immune response induced by the colonization of specific sub-gingival
bacteria. Aggregatibacter actinomycetemcomitans is a Gram-negative bacterium associated with
periodontal disease and a variety of disseminated extra-oral infections. The multiple physiological
niches occupied by this pathogen, sharing both common and unique properties, suggest that the
expression of surface adhesins and other colonization genes are under strict transcriptional
control. One of these genes, the extracellular matrix protein adhesin A (EmaA), is an important
surface adhesin in biofilm biogenesis and disease initiation. We have acquired a strain that is
responsive to the environmental regulation of emaA, and this strain will serve as a model system
to determine the mechanism(s) used by this organism to maintain bacterial fitness in relation to
the physiological niche. This infective endocarditis strain will be used in Aim One to identify
transcriptional regulators of emaA and other genes associated with niche adaptation. We have
also identified a novel process for EmaA regulation, and in Aim Two we will investigate this
mechanism of intracellular regulation of emaA expression by the processed portion of the fimbrial
subunit (Flp1). The new insights gained from understanding how A. actinomycetemcomitans
regulates surface protein expression on a basal level as well as during physiological niche
adaptation will aid in the development of molecules to disrupt and/or diminish tissue colonization
by this pathogen.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 9958172
- **Project number:** 1R21DE029609-01
- **Recipient organization:** UNIVERSITY OF VERMONT & ST AGRIC COLLEGE
- **Principal Investigator:** KEITH Peter MINTZ
- **Activity code:** R21 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2020
- **Award amount:** $234,000
- **Award type:** 1
- **Project period:** 2020-03-01 → 2022-02-28

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/9958172

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 9958172, Transcriptional Regulation of an Aggregatibacter Actinomycetemcomitans Adhesin (1R21DE029609-01). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-24 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/9958172. Licensed CC0.

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