Recent studies have suggested a relationship between maternal Campylobacter rectus infections and preterm low birth weight. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of female sex hormones, estradiol and progesterone, on C. rectus and human gingival fibroblasts (HGF). The growth of C. rectus was significantly enhanced by incorporating either estradiol or progesterone in the culture medium. The production of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), interleukin (IL)-6 and IL-8 by HGF increased following stimulation with estradiol or progesterone, at concentrations comparable to those present in the plasma of pregnant women. In addition, a significantly higher secretion of VEGF by HGF treated with the combination of C. rectus and estradiol was observed in comparison with a treatment with C. rectus alone. Stimulation of HGF with VEGF resulted in production of IL-6 and IL-8 in a dose-dependent manner. The capacity of female sex hormones to enhance both C. rectus growth and VEGF, IL-6, and IL-8 production by HGF has the potential to contribute to periodontal disease progression during pregnancy.

The presence of regular arrays (RAs) in the cell walls of strains of the genus Lactobacillus was examined by electron microscopy. The RAs were found in 6 species including L. bulgaricus, L. helveticus, L. acidophilus, L. fermentum, L. brevis and L. buchneri. The RAs were composed of a protein with an apparent Mr ranging from about 41000 to 55000, depending on the species upon sodium dodecyl sulfate‐polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (SDS‐PAGE). The amino acid composition of the RA proteins was shown to be acidic and hydrophobic. The antigenicity of the RA protein from L. buchneri appeared to be specific but not common among the RA proteins from the other lactobacilli.

To investigate the possible relationship of HTLV-I virus infection to autoimmune thyroid disease, we examined, firstly, the frequency of HTLV-I seropositivity among patients with Hashimoto's thyroiditis and, secondly, the frequency of Hashimoto's thyroiditis in patients with HTLV-I associated myelopathy/tropical spastic paraparesis (HAM/TSP). Of 144 patients with Hashimoto's thyroiditis in the Tokushima and Kochi Prefectures, Japan, 9 (6.3%) were positive for serum HTLV-I virus antibody 2 of whom were confirmed histologically to have Hashimoto's thyroiditis. This percentage is significantly higher (P < 0.01) than the estimated prevalence (2.2%) of HTLV-I carriers among the general population in this region. Of 9 patients with HAM/TSP, 3 (33.3%), including 2 biopsy-proven cases, had evidence of Hashimoto's thyroiditis. This proportion is apparently much higher than the prevalence (1.7%) of Hashimoto's thyroiditis in the general population. These findings suggest that HTLV-I virus may be related to the development of Hashimoto's thyroiditis.

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The outer sheath carrying a polygonal array was isolated from an oral treponeme, Treponema sp. strain E-21, by disruption of cells by means of repeated freeze-thawing and by removal of flagella under acidic conditions followed by linear sucrose density gradient centrifugation. Electron microscopy revealed that the outer sheath was isolated as a triple-layered vesicle having a polygonal array, free of flagella and wall membrane complex. Using optical diffrction, negatively stained preparations of the outer sheath fiagments showed that the polygonal array appeared to be composed of a hexagonal pattern with a predominant spacing of about 16.3 nm. The isolated outer sheath contained 49.7% protein, 30.8% total lipid, and 11.0% carbohydrate. Phospholipid comprised about 95% of the total lipid. Sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis revealed that the outer sheath was composed primarily of one major protein with an apparent molecular weight of about 62,000. The material from the isolated outer sheath solubilized with 1% sodium deoxycholate was reassembled into vesicles having a roughly polygonal array upon removal of the detergent by dialysis against 10 mM Tris-hydrochloride buffer with or without Mg2+.Spirochetes possess an outer sheath which surrounds the coiled protoplasmic cylinder and flagella (axial filaments) (6, 12). Adequate information concerning the ultrastructural organzation, as well as the chemical composition and physicochemical nature, is meager for an accurate assessment of its function. Johnson and his colleagues isolated the outer sheath from some species of Leptospira (2), Treponema (13, 32), and Borrelia (17) by using the procedure involving solubilization of the outer sheath with low concentrations of sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS). The outer sheath was also isolated and purified from Leptospira interrogans by exposure to osmotic shock in a hypotonic buffer followed by subsequent centrifugation in KBr and CsCl density gradients (36).In some species of Spirochaeta and Treponema, the outer sheath consists of a morphologically complex layer of polygonally arranged subunits (6). The presence of a polygonal array in the outer sheath was also revealed in several cultivable treponemes by Hovind-Hougen (7-9). However, the chemistry and morphological organization of the polygonally arranged subunits and the specific interaction between the subunits and the other components of the outer sheath are unknown. Treponema sp. strain E-21, isolated from a human oral cavity with pyorrhea (29), has been found to possess an outer sheath carrying a reticular structure (33). In this paper, we describe a procedure for the isolation of the outer sheath from an oral treponeme. Morphological and chemical properties, as well as reassembly of the isolated outer sheath, are also presented.MATERIALS AND METHODS Orpnim and growth. Treponema sp. strain E-21, which was isolated from the oral pus of a patient with pyorrhea (29) and kindly supplied