Total GDH activity was investigated using enzyme assay. Biofilm cells showed a 1.5-fold

increase in GDH activity compared to planktonic cells (Table 2). This finding and their reduced MW suggests that GDH isoforms (Spots 7–10, Table 1) likely represent truncated and inactive forms of the enzyme. A markedly SN-38 cell line increased see more (>3-fold) production of GDH compared to pH 7.4 was observed at pH 8.2 (Spots 5 and 6, Table 1). Previous proteomic results showed that when cultured at pH 7.8, F. nucleatum increased the production of GDH by 1.3-fold [26]. This enzyme catalyses the initial oxidation of glutamate in the 2-oxoglutarate pathway (Figure 3) and increased abundance of this enzyme would allow the organism to respond metabolically to elevated glutamate levels associated with the increased GCF flow observed in periodontal disease [51]. An increased capacity to catabolise glutamate at an elevated environmental pH may

give the organism a selective advantage. Interestingly, previous studies reported differing observations with an increased intracellular concentration of GDH in an aero-tolerant strain of F. nucleatum subsp. nucleatum[39] selleck inhibitor but not in bacterial cells cultured under oxidative stress [52]. At pH 7.4, butanoate was the dominant amino acid metabolite produced by F. nucleatum (Table 2). This appears associated with the increased intracellular concentration of butanoate: acetoacetate CoA transferase (EC 2.8.3.9) and a decreased concentration of butyryl-CoA dehydrogenase (EC 1.3.99.2) in planktonic compared to biofilm cells (Table 1, Figure 3). Growth at pH 8.2 revealed an increased acetate/butanoate ratio (Table 2).

This finding was consistent Dapagliflozin with the observed decreased expression of butyryl-CoA dehydrogenase (EC 1.3.99.2) and butanoate: acetoacetate CoA transferase (EC 2.8.3.9) and increased production of phosphate acetyltransferase (EC 2.3.1.8) in biofilm cells (Table 1, Figure 3). A shift from butanoate to acetate production by F. nucleatum under oxidative stress was also reported by Steeves and colleagues [52]. The production of the more oxidized end-product (acetate) yields more biomass per mole than butanoate [53]. Accordingly, it has been suggested that this shift towards acetate is energy efficient, yielding more ATP per mole of crotonoyl-CoA [54]. A decreased production of pyruvate synthase (EC 1.2.7.1) was observed in cells cultured at pH 8.2 (Table 1). This enzyme catalyses the inter-conversion of pyruvate to acetyl-CoA, linking the 2-oxoglutarate and glycolytic pathways. The decreased intracellular concentration of this enzyme potentially uncouples the two pathways in the biofilm cells (Figure 3). Changes in transport protein expression Approximately 10% of bacterial genes encode for transport proteins, the majority of these are located in bacterial membranes [55].