The role of bacterial surface components in periodontal destruction

This paper reports the activity associated with capsule-derived material and lipopolysaccharide extracted from Actinobacillus actinomycetemcomitans on connective tissue cells. The ability of lipopolysaccharide (LPS) to initiate inflammatory and destructive processes in the pathogenesis of periodontal disease was compared to that of capsular material (CM). The biological activities investigated were cytotoxicity to fibroblasts, stimulation of in-vitro bone resorption and Interleukin 1-like activities.