Epithelial‐mesenchymal transition (
Primary oral keratinocytes were harvested from labial mandibular mucosa of Wistar Han rats. Cells were exposed to heat‐killed
Exposure of primary epithelial cell cultures to periodontal pathogens was associated with a significant decrease in transcription (~3‐fold) of E‐cadherin and the upregulation of N‐cadherin, vimentin, Snail, matrix metalloproteinase‐2 (~3‐5 fold) and toll‐like receptor 4. Bacterial stimulation (for 8 days) also resulted in an increased percentage of vimentin‐positive cells (an increase of 20% after stimulation with
Prolonged exposure of primary rat oral keratinocyte cultures to periodontal pathogens generated