External capsule protects gum disease-causing bacteria from immune response

(Medical Xpress) -- The capsule of Porphyromonas gingivalis, the bacterium that causes gum disease, provides stealth, boosting the bacterium’s virulence, according to a paper published in the November Infection and Immunity. Call it a sugar coating, if you will, for in fact, the capsule is made from sugar molecules, which do not ordinarily elicit immunity. Thus it hides the bacterium’s proteins within, preventing immune response.

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