“…Activation of mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) pathways has also shown to be involved in these proinflammatory responses; however, the mechanisms have not been elucidated (12,14,39,45,52). P. gingivalis can adhere to and invade epithelial and endothelial cells (3,5,6,9,10,26,33,35,44,56), and infection with viable organisms of P. gingivalis induces IL-1, IL-6, IL-8, TNF-␣, and monocyte chemoattractant protein 1 (MCP-1) production by human epithelial and endothelial cells (20,35,43). We found here that infection with viable P. gingivalis induced RANKL expression in osteoblasts through activator protein 1 (AP-1) signaling.…”