Table 3.
Role of capsule in survival of P. gingivalis with immune cellsa
| Cell type | Dilution | No. of colonies |
|
|---|---|---|---|
| W50 | PgC | ||
| Dendritic cells | 1:4 | TMTC | 0 |
| 1:10 | 200 | 0 | |
| 1:100 | 20 | 0 | |
| Macrophages | 1:4 | TMTC | 0 |
| 1:10 | 125 | 0 | |
| 1:100 | 5–10 | 0 | |
a
The P. gingivalis parental strain (W50) and the capsule-deficient mutant (PgC) were used to infect dendritic cells and macrophages. Following washing, different dilutions of lysed host cells containing attached/internalized bacteria were plated, and counts were obtained for each dilution. The table shows quantitative results for one representative experiment that was performed three times on different days with similar results. Plate images are in Fig. S2A and S2B in the supplemental material. TMTC, too many to count.