Oral Pathogen ‘Neutralizes’ the Human Innate Immune Defence

Our present findings show for the first time that the virulence factor PPAD protects the oral pathogen P. gingivalis against neutrophil insults at three distinct levels, namely phagocytosis, NETosis and CAMP activity. This identifies PPAD as a major agent in the evasion of human innate immunity, a view that is supported by studies from Potempa and co-workers showing PPAD-dependent citrullination of complement.