Bacteroides gingivalis fimbriae stimulate production of thymocyte-activating factor by human gingival fibroblasts.

In a previous report (Y. Ohmori, S. Hanazawa, S. Amano, T. Miyoshi, K. Hirose, and S. Kitano, infect. Immun. 55:947-954, 1987), we showed that human gingival fibroblasts spontaneously produce thymocyte-activating factor (FTAF), which stimulates mitogen-induced thymocyte proliferation. In the present study, we examined the effect of Bacteroides gingivalis fimbriae on FTAF production by the cells, because the fimbriae may be involved in attachment of the organism to periodontal tissues. We show here that the fimbriae bind to the cells, which may subsequently lead to the stimulation of FTAF production by the cells.