Detection of heat shock proteins but not superantigen by isolated oral bacteria from patients with Behcet's disease

We isolated bacteria from periodontal sites and mixed saliva in eight patients with Behcet's disease and surveyed them to determine whether they produced heat shock proteins (HSPs) and superantigen. Cultivable bacterial compositions from periodontal sites and saliva were examined by anaerobic culture using blood agar plates. Gram-negative anaerobic rods such as Prevotella intermedia, Fusobacterium nucleatum, and Capnocytophaga species were predominant in the isolates from the subgingival plaque samples. The Streptococcus mitis group was the most common type isolated from the saliva samples. To detect the production of HSPs, Western blot analyses were performed using a polyclonal rabbit antibody to Escherichia coli DnaK and a monoclonal antibody to Helicobacter pylori Gro-EL. Sonic extracts of 27 of the strains (79.4%) reacted with the antibody against E. coli DnaK. Nine of these 34 strains (26.5%) were found to produce HSPs that reacted with antibody to H. pylori Gro-EL. A total of 54 isolates were examined for superantigen activity against human peripheral leukocytes. Twenty-five gram-negative clinical strains isolated from chronic periodontitis lesions and 20 ATCC strains of microorganisms were also examined. We could not detect any superantigen activity in 500x diluted supernatant of the strains isolated from the eight patients with Behcet's disease. The present study indicates that the anaerobic strains isolated from the oral cavity of these patients produce HSPs, the production being related to Bechet's disease.