Hansel Fletcher
Loma Linda University, CA·Microbiology & Immunology
Gum disease is extremely common, becomes chronic, and has no truly effective treatment. Beyond the mouth, studies have linked it to atherosclerosis (clogged arteries), rheumatoid arthritis, some cancers, diabetes and Alzheimer's disease.
- Fields
Microbiology & Immunology
Biochemistry
Medicine & Clinical Research
- Topics
Porphyromonas gingivalis
periodontitis
gum disease
- Grants
- 1 known grant, through Apr 2030
What they work on
- Determine the sequential post-translational processing steps that convert inactive progingipains into mature gingipain complexes on the Porphyromonas gingivalis surface.
- Compare proteolytic activity and independent biological functions of single-chain progingipains with assembled non-covalent complexes of the catalytic domain and hemagglutinin domains.
- Solve the structures of full-length gingipains and of the native RgpA-Kgp membrane surface complex to reveal how protein cutting and hemagglutination/adhesion work cooperatively.
- Dissect the functional roles of distinct hemagglutinin/adhesin domains in P. gingivalis adhesion and pathogenicity, testing whether blocking both protease and adhesive activity is needed.
More about the research
A central culprit is Porphyromonas gingivalis, a black-pigmented bacterium that grows without oxygen and acts as a keystone pathogen, meaning it reshapes the whole microbial community to cause damage. This research works out, in molecular detail, how the bacterium builds and positions its most important weapons, with the long-term aim of finding something a drug could block.
Why it matters
Periodontitis affects many people and lacks effective treatment, and the same bacterium has been tied to atherosclerosis, rheumatoid arthritis, diabetes, certain cancers and Alzheimer's disease. Because gingipains and their surface complexes are required for P. gingivalis to cause harm, a detailed picture of how they mature and assemble could identify a druggable step, pointing toward therapies that block both the enzyme's cutting and its ability to stick to tissue.
Known grants
From NIH and NSF research grants. Labs often have other funding we can't see.
Closest labs
Janina Lewis
Virginia Commonwealth University, VA·Microbiology & Immunology
Define how Porphyromonas gingivalis senses nitrosative stress by determining the structure and biochemistry of HcpR, a regulator that uses a hemin-dependent mechanism to switch on the hcp gene.
Ping Zhang
University of Alabama at Birmingham, AL·Microbiology & Immunology
Determine how periodontitis regulates activation of microglia, the brain's resident immune cells, in Alzheimer's disease model mice, using three different experimental models of periodontal disease.
Alex Valm
University at Albany, NY·Microbiology & Immunology
Test whether long filamentous cells at the gum line bring plaque bacteria into contact with gum epithelium to start gingivitis, by imaging intact biofilms on extracted teeth with FISH probes for up to 18 bacterial types.
The school
Loma Linda University: 2 labs on PI Pages, $24M a year on research, 138 research doctorates a year.
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