Porphyromonas gingivalis Fim-A genotype distribution among Colombians

INTRODUCTION: Porphyromonas gingivalis is associated with periodontitis and exhibit a wide array of virulence factors, including fimbriae which is encoded by the FimA gene representing six known genotypes. OBJETIVE: To identify FimA genotypes of P. gingivalis in subjects from Cali-Colombia, including the co-infection with Aggregatibacter actinomycetemcomitans, Treponema denticola, and Tannerella forsythia. METHODS: Subgingival samples were collected from 151 people exhibiting diverse periodontal condition. The occurrence of P. gingivalis, FimA genotypes and other bacteria was determined by PCR. RESULTS: P. gingivalis was positive in 85 patients. Genotype FimA II was more prevalent without reach significant differences among study groups (54.3%), FimA IV was also prevalent in gingivitis (13.0%). A high correlation (p= 0.000) was found among P. gingivalis, T. denticola, and T. forsythia co-infection. The FimA II genotype correlated with concomitant detection of T. denticola and T. forsythia. CONCLUSIONS: Porphyromonas gingivalis was high even in the healthy group at the study population. A trend toward a greater frequency of FimA II genotype in patients with moderate and severe periodontitis was determined. The FimA II genotype was also associated with increased pocket depth, greater loss of attachment level, and patients co-infected with T. denticola and T. forsythia.