Abstract: Objective To test whether Porphyromonas gingivalis (P. gingivalis) could produce bacterial signal molecule, bis-(3’-5’)-cyclic dimeric adenosine monophosphate (c-di-AMP) and lay the foundation for explorations of its roles in life metabolism and periodontitis immunity of P. gingivalis.Methods P. gingivalis standard strain ATCC33277 was used as the experimental strain to extract nucleic acids from the bacteria. Then, c-di-AMP was detected using high performance liquid chromatography coupled with mass spectrometry (HPLC-MS/MS). Subsequently, HPLC was used to validate the sample further. Results Based on the signal/noise (S/N) for 3∶1, the limit of determination of HPLC-MS/MS for peak time of c-di-AMP standard substances was 7.49 min and nucleic acid extractions from P. gingivalis was 8.82 min (S/N>3). Further confirmation of HPLC showed that nucleic acid extractions from both P. gingivalis and c-di-AMP standard substances presented goal absorbent peaks at 15.7 min, with the same ultraviolet absorbent spectrum. Conclusion The nucleic acid extractions from P. gingivalis contained c-di-AMP, which shows that P. gingivalis could produce c-di-AMP.

Key words: bis-(3’-5’)-cyclic dimeric adenosine monophosphate, Porphyromonas gingivalis, high performance liquid chromatography coupled with mass spectrometry