EJMS

Abstract

Very few studies tried to investigate the possible underlying mechanisms of Trichomonas tenax potential pathogenicity and the precise mechanisms by which it may cause tissue damage. A recent work by the authors demonstrated cysteine proteinase bands of seven T.tenax isolates derived from Egyptian patients having oral infections by non-denaturing gelatin Sodium Dodecyl Sulfate-Polyacrylamide Gel Electrophoresis (SDS-PAGE). The present work was performed to clarify the role of this parasite in degrading human secretory immunoglobulin A (sIgA) and haemoglobin as a potential virulence factors in pathogenicity. The previously studied seven isolates of T.tenax were investigated for the sIgA and haemoglobin- degrading activities to illustrate the possible inter-strain differences in such activities. The results showed that cell lysates of the seven isolates were able to degrade the heavy chain (HC) of sIgA, dimer and monomer of hemoglobin after 24h of incubation. However, heterogeneity in the degrading activities among the isolates was observed, which was more apparent for sIgA than for haemoglobin. Further studies are needed with a greater number of strains isolated from perodontitis patients and individuals with healthy oral hygiene. Also, studies measuring the quantitative differences between proteases activity of isolates belonging to perodontitis patients and healthy individuals are recommend to clarify any potential difference and the possible existence of pathogenic and non-pathogenic strains.