title: Adhesion of salivary components to Streptococcus mutans peptides.
abstract: Streptococcus mutans is the main microorganism associated to dental caries; it adheres to the dental enamel by interacting with the acquired film's proteins and the cell surface adhesin, called variously antigen PAc. At least two distinct sites in PAc interact with salivary receptors in vitro, these are within residues 816-1213, the most conserved portion of PAc, and within residues 186-469, the alanine-rich sequence. Our purpose was to establish differences or similarities in PAc's peptides interactions with the salivary components of individuals with and without previous caries experience. 40 saliva samples were obtained from patients with (n=20) and without (n=20) caries. The acquired film's proteins were extracted using hydroxyapatite, and subjected to interaction with three synthetic PAc peptides (PAc (301-319), PAc (365-377), and PAc (1025-1044)) synthesized from PAc's bonding sites to the salivary components. The results show low interaction between the acquired pellicle components and the peptides in all patients. This suggests that the examined PAc's are not relevant as far as the initial adhesion of Streptococcus mutans to the tooth's surface is concerned, as defined by the similarities in the results for healthy and affected individuals.
authors.affiliation: Dental Research Center, School of Dentistry, Javeriana University, Bogotá, Colombia.
authors.forename: Jairo A
authors.initials: JA
authors.lastname: Tovar
authors.forename: Camilo
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Durán
authors.forename: Adriana
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Rodríguez
authors.forename: Lorenza
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Jaramillo
mesh_terms: D018829:Adhesins, Bacterial / Q000737:chemistry / Q000378:metabolism; D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D001422:Bacterial Adhesion / Q000502:physiology*; D001426:Bacterial Proteins / Q000737:chemistry / Q000378:metabolism*; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D003731:Dental Caries / Q000382:microbiology; D044622:Dental Pellicle / Q000737:chemistry / Q000378:metabolism*; D006801:Humans; D008562:Membrane Glycoproteins / Q000737:chemistry / Q000378:metabolism*; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D008970:Molecular Weight; D011485:Protein Binding; D012471:Salivary Proteins and Peptides / Q000378:metabolism*; D013295:Streptococcus mutans / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000502:physiology
chemical_list: D018829:Adhesins, Bacterial; D001426:Bacterial Proteins; D008562:Membrane Glycoproteins; C055764:S-layer proteins; D012471:Salivary Proteins and Peptides