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Prevalence of Filifactor alocis and its RTX protein-encoding gene, ftxA, among periodontitis patients in Sweden
Umeå University, Faculty of Medicine, Department of Odontology. (Aa gruppen)
Umeå University, Faculty of Medicine, Department of Odontology.ORCID iD: 0009-0001-5698-5107
Umeå University, Faculty of Medicine, Department of Odontology. (Aa-gruppen)ORCID iD: 0000-0001-9715-8039
Umeå University, Faculty of Medicine, Department of Odontology.ORCID iD: 0000-0002-8069-8263
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2026 (English)In: Pathogens, E-ISSN 2076-0817, Vol. 15, no 7, article id 662Article in journal (Refereed) Published
Abstract [en]

The oral pathogen Filifactor alocis encodes a repeats-in-toxin (RTX) protein, FtxA, that isencoded by the ftxA gene; it is present in approximately 50% of known isolated strains from various infected oral sites, including periodontitis, peri-implantitis, and root canal infections. It has been determined from PCR assessment of periodontally diseased cohorts in Ghana and Australia. Based on current knowledge, ftxA appears to be associated with both the progress and severity of periodontitis. This finding could potentially be linked to enhanced levels of ftxA-positive F. alocis, relative to ftxA-negative strain, and/or, in addition, a synergy between ftxA-positive strains and other periodontal pathogens. The exact mechanism remains unclear but may depend on an FtxA-mediated shifting of the host cell response toward immunosuppression. The main objective of the present work was to evaluate the prevalence and loads of F. alocis and the presence of ftxA in subgingival plaque in patients recruited for periodontal treatment in Sweden. This observational study included all samples that were received from external clinics over one full year (n =71 patients). Our findings revealed that F. alocis was carried by 49 (69%) of the individuals, with the prevalence of ftxA amounting to 42.9% (n = 21). In 32 of the 71 samples, F. alocis could be quantitatively assessed. In this sub-population of F. alocis-positive patients, high loads of the bacterium were not related to age, and high loads were more frequently observed upon carriage of ftxA. The presence of, and co-colonization with, F. alocis with four additional periodontal pathogens was also evaluated. F. alocis was notable in that it cocolonized with all of the other species. Moreover, it was detected alongside two and even three of the other species within the same sample.

Place, publisher, year, edition, pages
Basel: MDPI, 2026. Vol. 15, no 7, article id 662
Keywords [en]
F. alocis, ftxA, periodontitis, subgingival plaque, co-colonization, Sweden
National Category
Odontology
Research subject
Microbiology; Odontology
Identifiers
URN: urn:nbn:se:umu:diva-256074DOI: 10.3390/pathogens15070662ISI: 001831814200001PubMedID: 42514989Scopus ID: 2-s2.0-105045726050OAI: oai:DiVA.org:umu-256074DiVA, id: diva2:2079941
Funder
The Kempe Foundations, Travel grantRegion Västerbotten, 7003766Region Västerbotten, 7004758Region Västerbotten, 7003193Umeå UniversityAvailable from: 2026-06-25 Created: 2026-06-25 Last updated: 2026-08-04Bibliographically approved

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Claesson, RolfRadu, JessicaRazooqi, ZeinabJohansson, AndersOscarsson, Jan

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CiteExportLink to record
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