Ability of oral bacteria to degrade fibronectin

The fibronectin-degrading ability of 116, mainly oral, strains was assayed by using plasma-derived fibronectin adsorbed to a polystyrene surface. Ability to degrade fibronectin was revealed in strains of Bacteroides gingivalis, Bacteroides intermedius, Bacteroides loeschii, Staphylococcus aureus, Staphylococcus epidermidis, Peptococcus prevotii, Clostridium sporogenes, and Propionibacterium acnes. The fibronectinolytic activity of subgingival bacteriological samples was found to be related to the presence of B. gingivalis and B. intermedius. In addition, strains of the nonoral Bacteroides species B. asaccharolyticus and B. fragilis showed fibronectin-degrading ability. No such ability was detected in the oral strains tested of Streptococcus, Veillonella, Actinomyces, Lactobacillus, Actinobacillus, Capnocytophaga, Fusobacterium, or Haemophilus species.