Dr Smalley – Research collaboration and field-leading publications
Dr John Smalley, senior lecturer within the School of Dentistry, pictured with his post-graduate research student Jason Brown, attended the recent “Pg London 2015” international research conference on the periodontal pathogen Porphyromonas gingivalis. Here they presented research findings on novel mechanisms through which other bacteria aid the organism to acquire haem (a virulence enhancing nutrient) from the host.
Their ongoing research on P. gingivalis involves collaborations with field-leading groups including Professor Jan Potempa at the University of Louisville, School of Dentistry, Louisville, USA, and Professor Teresa Olczak at the University of Wroclaw, Wroclaw, Poland, which have led to the publication of two recent research papers this year in PLoS ONE (http://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0118319; http://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0117508).
Increasing epidemiological evidence has shown that in addition to its causal role in periodontitis, P. gingivalis contributes to infections at other body sites including the lung. Dr Smalley’s pioneering work has revealed the mechanism through which P. gingivalis acquires essential haem and which up-regulates its pathogenicity and which may exacerbate infection when it co-colonises with Pseudomonas aeruginosa in the lungs of cystic fibrosis patients. His work with Professor Olczak’s group in Wroclaw has shown how antibodies to one of the components of its haem acquisition system can be used as a specific predictor for the presence of P. gingivalis in dental plaque, and which may be of prognostic value in the management of periodontitis patients. Dr Smalley is also working on virulence mechanisms of the haem-pigmenting periodontopathogen Prevotella intermedia, and a paper describing one of its virulence factors (the interpain A protease) is to be published shortly (BMC Microbiology), as will an invited review on haem acquisition mechanisms in P. gingivalis (Molecular Oral Microbiology).