Periodontal disease is one of the most common forms of inflammation. It is currently diagnosed by observing symptoms such as gingival bleeding and attachment loss. However, the detection of biomarkers that precede such symptoms would allow earlier diagnosis and prevention. Aptamers are short oligonucleotides or peptides that fold into three-dimensional conformations conferring the ability to bind molecular targets with high affinity and specificity. Here we report the selection of aptamers that bind specifically to the bacterium Tannerella forsythia, a pathogen frequently associated with periodontal disease. Two aptamers with the highest affinity were examined in more detail, revealing that their binding is probably dependent on mirolysin, a surface-associated protease secreted by the T. forsythia type-9 secretion system. The aptamers showed minimal cross-reactivity to other periodontopathogens and are therefore promising leads for the development of new tools to study the composition of the periodontitis-associated dysbiotic bacteriome as well as inexpensive new diagnostic assays.

中文翻译：

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识别牙周病原菌连翘的适体的筛选和表征

牙周病是最常见的炎症形式之一。目前通过观察牙龈出血和附着丧失等症状来诊断。然而，在出现此类症状之前检测生物标志物将有助于早期诊断和预防。适体是短寡核苷酸或肽，可折叠成三维构象，赋予其以高亲和力和特异性结合分子靶标的能力。在这里，我们报告了与连翘坦纳氏菌（一种经常与牙周病相关的病原体）特异性结合的适体的选择。对两个具有最高亲和力的适体进行了更详细的检查，揭示了它们的结合可能依赖于 mirolysin，一种由连翘9型分泌系统分泌的表面相关蛋白酶。这些适体与其他牙周病原体的交叉反应性极小，因此有望成为开发研究牙周炎相关菌群失调细菌组成的新工具以及廉价的新诊断测定方法的新工具。