title: Saliva-induced aggregation of oral streptococci and the influence of blood group reactive substances.
abstract: Aggregation of strains of Streptococcus rattus, Strep. mutans and Strep. salivarius by saliva from individuals of blood groups A, B and O was investigated. Blood group A salivas had a significantly higher aggregation activity with Strep. rattus than blood group B salivas (P less than 0.05). However, Strep. mutans and Strep. salivarius were better aggregated by blood group B saliva and this was significant for Strep. mutans (P less than 0.05). For all three strains, the variance within blood group O was too large to give significant differences with either blood group A or B. The blood group A-specific carbohydrate, N-acetyl-D-galactosamine, inhibited aggregation of Strep. rattus, but not of the other strains. The blood group B-specific carbohydrate, D-galactose, inhibited aggregation of Strep. mutans but not of Strep. rattus or Strep. salivarius. L-Fucose, specific for blood group O failed to inhibit aggregation of any of the three strains. These findings suggest that blood group-specific substances may be involved in bacterial aggregation.
authors.affiliation: Department of Oral Biochemistry, Vrije Universiteit, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: A J
authors.initials: AJ
authors.lastname: Ligtenberg
authors.forename: E C
authors.initials: EC
authors.lastname: Veerman
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: de Graaff
authors.forename: A V
authors.initials: AV
authors.lastname: Nieuw Amerongen
mesh_terms: D000017:ABO Blood-Group System / Q000502:physiology*; D001422:Bacterial Adhesion / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology*; D005690:Galactose / Q000494:pharmacology; D006384:Hemagglutination; D006801:Humans; D007519:Isoantigens / Q000502:physiology; D009055:Mouth / Q000382:microbiology; D012463:Saliva / Q000737:chemistry / Q000502:physiology*; D012794:Sialic Acids / Q000494:pharmacology; D013045:Species Specificity; D013291:Streptococcus / Q000145:classification / Q000502:physiology*; D013295:Streptococcus mutans / Q000502:physiology
chemical_list: D000017:ABO Blood-Group System; D007519:Isoantigens; D012794:Sialic Acids; D005690:Galactose