Aggregatibacter actinomycetemcomitans is a Gram-negative, facultative anaerobe, nonmotile bacterium that is often found in association with localized aggressive periodontitis, a severe infection of the periodontium.

[citation needed] 'Bacterium actinomycetem comitans' was first described by Klinger (1912) as coccobacillary bacteria isolated with Actinomyces from actinomycotic lesions in humans.

[2] Recent studies have shown a phylogenetic similarity of A. actinomycetemcomitans and Haemophilus aphrophilus, H. paraphrophilus, and H. segnis, suggesting the new genus Aggregatibacter for them.

It possesses certain virulence factors that enable it to invade tissues, such as the pore-forming toxin leukotoxin A.

[4] The pore-forming toxin LtxA of A. actinomycetemcomitans may be a trigger of the autoimmune disease rheumatoid arthritis due to its ability to stimulate protein citrullination, a post-translational protein modification targeted by autoantibodies in this disease.