Establishment of Porphyromonas gingivalis-specific T-cell lines from atherosclerosis patients

Porphyromonas gingivalis-specific T-cell lines were established from athero sclerotic lesions from two patients. T-cell lines were found to be a mixtur e of CD4(+) and CD8(+) T-cells producing variable amount of interferon-gamm a, interleukin-4 and interleukin-10. The two patients have had a periodonta l disease whose anti-P. gingivalis immunoglobulin G titers were significant ly elevated, and P. gingivalis was the one of the predominantly cultivable microorganisms. This is the first report of the successful establishment of P. gingivalis-specific T-cell lines from atherosclerotic patients.