title: Peptide pheromone induced cell death of Streptococcus mutans.
abstract: Streptococcus mutans is considered one of the main causative agents of human dental caries. Cell-cell communication through two-component signal transduction systems (TCSTS) plays an important role in the pathogenesis of S. mutans. One of the S. mutans TCSTS, ComDE, controls both competence development and biofilm formation. In this study, we showed that addition of exogenous competence-stimulating peptide (CSP) beyond the levels necessary for competence inhibited the growth of S. mutans in a ComDE-dependent manner. We also demonstrated that further increases of CSP stopped S. mutans cell division leading to cell death. Use of CSP as a possible therapeutic agent is discussed.
authors.affiliation: Division of Oral Biology and Medicine, UCLA School of Dentistry, Los Angeles, CA 90095, United States.
authors.forename: Fengxia
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Qi
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Kreth
authors.forename: Celine M
authors.initials: CM
authors.lastname: Lévesque
authors.forename: Olga
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Kay
authors.forename: Richard W
authors.initials: RW
authors.lastname: Mair
authors.forename: Wenyuan
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Shi
authors.forename: Dennis G
authors.initials: DG
authors.lastname: Cvitkovitch
authors.forename: Steven D
authors.initials: SD
authors.lastname: Goodman
mesh_terms: D001426:Bacterial Proteins / Q000378:metabolism; D018441:Biofilms; D016923:Cell Death; D010455:Peptides; D010675:Pheromones / Q000494:pharmacology*; D013295:Streptococcus mutans / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000378:metabolism / Q000502:physiology; D014169:Transformation, Bacterial
chemical_list: D001426:Bacterial Proteins; D010455:Peptides; D010675:Pheromones; C423628:competence factor, Streptococcus