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Screening Assays to Characterize Novel Endothelial Regulators Involved in the Inflammatory Response
Published on: September 15, 2017
Proinflammatory MG-63 cells response infection with Enterococcus faecalis cps2 evaluated by the expression of TLR-2,
Boy M Bachtiar1, Endang W Bachtiar2
1Department of Oral Biology and Oral Science Research Center, Faculty of Dentistry, Universitas Indonesia, Jl. Salemba Raya 4, Jakarta, 10430, Indonesia. boybachtiar@gmail.com.
Objective:
We have previously demonstrated that unencapsulated Enterococcus faecalis cps2 inhibits biofilm formation of Candida albicans, a fungus commonly found with E. faecalis in periapical lesion. In this study, we compared encapsulated and unencapsulated E. faecalis cps2 strains relationship with osteoblastic (MG-63) cells, whereas E. faecalis ATCC 29212 were used as a reference strain.
Results:
The binding capacity of E. faecalis to MG-63 cells as shown by each tested strain was comparable, but the unencapsulated strain was less invasive compared to the encapsulated and the reference strains. Moreover, quantitative real time-PCR (qPCR) results showed that infecting unencapsulated E. faecalis cps2 is a stronger stimulator for toll like receptor 2 (TLR2) and interleukin-1β (IL-1β) mRNAs, but not for inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS) mRNA in osteoblastic cells. In conclusion, the performance of unencapsulated E. faecalis cps2 when the bacterium interacts with osteoblastic cells is quite different from that of encapsulated E. faecalis cps2 and reference strains. It appears that the unencapsulated strain might contribute to the persistence of the periapical inflammatory response, depending on down-regulation of iNOS mRNA expression.
Insights
Unencapsulated Enterococcus faecalis cps2 interacts differently with osteoblastic cells than encapsulated strains. This may prolong periapical inflammation by altering immune responses.
Area of Science:
- Microbiology
- Immunology
- Cell Biology
Background:
- Enterococcus faecalis (E. faecalis) and Candida albicans (C. albicans) are often found together in periapical lesions.
- Previously, unencapsulated E. faecalis cps2 was shown to inhibit C. albicans biofilm formation.
Purpose of the Study:
- To compare the interaction of encapsulated and unencapsulated E. faecalis cps2 strains with osteoblastic (MG-63) cells.
- To evaluate the host immune response triggered by these bacterial strains.
Main Methods:
- Comparison of bacterial binding and invasion of MG-63 cells.
- Quantitative real-time PCR (qPCR) to analyze the expression of Toll-like receptor 2 (TLR2), interleukin-1β (IL-1β), and inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS) mRNAs in osteoblastic cells.
Main Results:
- Bacterial binding to MG-63 cells was similar across tested strains.
- Unencapsulated E. faecalis cps2 was less invasive than encapsulated and reference strains.
- Unencapsulated E. faecalis cps2 significantly upregulated TLR2 and IL-1β mRNA expression but not iNOS mRNA in osteoblastic cells.
Conclusions:
- The interaction of unencapsulated E. faecalis cps2 with osteoblastic cells differs significantly from encapsulated strains.
- The observed immune response modulation, particularly the down-regulation of iNOS mRNA, suggests a potential role for unencapsulated E. faecalis cps2 in the persistence of periapical inflammatory responses.

