AUSTRALIAN DENTAL RESEARCH FUND TREBITSCH SCHOLARSHIP - IMMUNOHISTOLOGICAL ANALYSIS OF AN IN-VIVO PORPHYROMONAS-GINGIVALIS-INDUCED LESION IN MICE

Animal models have been used to study the pathogenic ability of putati ve periodontopathic bacteria. Injection of mice with live Porphyromona s gingivalis extracts has been shown to induce primary lesions which d evelop at the site of injection within one day and secondary lesions w hich develop at a distant site some 3-5 days later. These lesions are primarily polymorphonuclear cell (PMN) infiltrates. Recently, extensiv e data have shown that PMN activity may in part be controlled by T cel ls. Hence the aim of this report was to use the mouse model to determi ne the presence of T cells and macrophages in primary lesions in order to describe a baseline to be used for comparison in future studies.