title: Antigenicity of a synthetic peptide from glucosyltransferases of Streptococcus mutans in humans.
abstract: Human salivary immunoglobulin A (IgA) and serum IgG antibodies to the Streptococcus mutans glucosyltransferases (Gtfs) and to a synthetic peptide of 19 amino acids from a conserved region in the Gtfs (residues 435 to 453) were determined in young adults by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. Varying levels of antibody to Gtfs were detected in saliva or serum, with significantly higher levels of antibody to GtfD than to GtfB/C or GtfC. Anti-Gtf IgA levels in saliva did not correlate with those of IgG in serum. Caries-free (CF) volunteers exhibited significantly higher salivary IgA antibody levels to the peptide and to GtfB/C or GtfC than did the caries-active (CA) subjects. Preincubation of CF saliva and serum with the peptide inhibited the antibodies to the Gtfs in a dose-dependent manner, whereas preincubation of the samples from the CA group resulted in only partial inhibition. Our results indicated that this 19-amino-acid peptide includes one of the major B-cell epitopes of Gtfs and that CF individuals have higher titers of antibodies than CA subjects.
authors.affiliation: Graduate Institute of Microbiology, College of Medicine, National Taiwan University, Taipei, Republic of China. chiajs@ntumc1.mc.ntu.edu.tw
authors.forename: J S
authors.initials: JS
authors.lastname: Chia
authors.forename: S W
authors.initials: SW
authors.lastname: Lin
authors.forename: C S
authors.initials: CS
authors.lastname: Yang
authors.forename: J Y
authors.initials: JY
authors.lastname: Chen
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D000907:Antibodies, Bacterial / Q000032:analysis*; D003731:Dental Caries / Q000276:immunology*; D005964:Glucosyltransferases / Q000276:immunology*; D006801:Humans; D007071:Immunoglobulin A, Secretory / Q000032:analysis; D007074:Immunoglobulin G / Q000097:blood; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D010446:Peptide Fragments / Q000276:immunology*; D012463:Saliva / Q000276:immunology; D013295:Streptococcus mutans / Q000201:enzymology / Q000276:immunology*
chemical_list: D000907:Antibodies, Bacterial; D007071:Immunoglobulin A, Secretory; D007074:Immunoglobulin G; D010446:Peptide Fragments; D005964:Glucosyltransferases