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Updated: May 15, 2026

Organotypic Tissue Model Systems for Investigating Host-Pathogen Interactions In Vitro
Published on: March 28, 2025
Oral epithelial cell responses to multispecies microbial biofilms
R Peyyala1, S S Kirakodu, K F Novak
1Center for Oral Health Research, College of Dentistry, University of Kentucky, Lexington, KY 40536, USA. rpeyy1@email.uky.edu
Abstract:
This report describes the use of a novel model of multispecies biofilms to stimulate profiles of cytokines/chemokines from oral epithelial cells that contribute to local inflammation in the periodontium. Streptococcus gordonii (Sg)/S. oralis (So)/S. sanguinis (Ss) and Sg/Fusobacterium nucleatum (Fn)/Porphyromonas gingivalis (Pg) biofilms elicited significantly elevated levels of IL-1α and showed synergistic stimulatory activity compared with an additive effect of the 3 individual bacteria. Only the Sg/Actinomyces naeslundii (An)/Fn multispecies biofilms elicited IL-6 levels above those of control. IL-8 was a primary response to the Sg/An/Fn biofilms, albeit the level was not enhanced compared with a predicted composite level from the monospecies challenges. These results represent some of the first data documenting alterations in profiles of oral epithelial cell responses to multispecies biofilms.
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