Editorial Comments to the Special Issue: “<i>Aggregaterbacter actinomycetemcomitans</i>—Gram-Negative Bacterial Pathogen”

• Main Authors: Jan Oscarsson, Joseph DiRienzo, Anders Johansson
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: MDPI AG 2020-06-01
• Series: Pathogens
• Subjects: Aggregatibacter actinomycetemcomitans; leukotoxin; cytolethal distending toxin; lipopolysaccharides; cytokine binding factors; horizontal gene transfer
• Online Access: https://www.mdpi.com/2076-0817/9/6/441
• ISSN: 2076-0817

<i>Aggregatibacter actinomycetemcomitans</i> is a periodontal pathogen colonizing the oral cavity in many individuals of the human population. It is equipped with several potent virulence factors that can cause cell death and induce or evade the host inflammatory response. Both harmless and highly virulent genotypes of the bacterium have emerged because of the large genetic diversity within the species. The oral condition and age, as well as the geographic origin of the individual, influence the risk to be colonized by a virulent genotype of the bacterium. In the present editorial, the different genetic and virulence properties of <i>A. actinomycetemcomitans</i> will be addressed in relation to the publications in this Special Issue.