Use of In Vivo-Induced Antigen Technology (IVIAT) to Identify Virulence Factors of Porphyromonas gingivalis

Porphyromonas gingivalis is a Gram-negative anaerobic bacterium associated with the initiation and progression of adult periodontal disease. The pathogenicity of P. gingivalis is multifaceted and the infection process is influenced by both microbial and host factors. It is generally accepted that genes of a pathogen that are specifically expressed during infection are likely to be important for pathogenicity. Numerous technologies have been developed to identify these genes. A novel strategy known as in vivo -induced antigen technology (IVIAT) avoids the use of animal models and utilizes serum from patients who have experienced disease caused by the pathogen of interest. While a number of putative virulence factors have been described for P. gingivalis , the identity, relevance, and mechanisms of action of virulence factors that actually provide a selective advantage to the organism in the oral cavity of diseased patients is still unclear. Here we describe the IVIAT protocol for identification of in vivo -induced genes of P. gingivalis , which can be adapted with few modifications to any microbial pathogen.