Acidic proline-rich protein Db and caries in young children.
Polymorphic, acidic proline-rich proteins (PRPs) in saliva influence the attachment of bacteria associated with caries. Our aims were to detect one of three acidic PRP alleles of the PRH1 locus (Db) using polymerase chain-reaction (PCR) on genomic DNA, and to determine its association with caries. DNA was obtained from buccal swabs from Caucasian and African-American children, and their caries experience was recorded. PCR primers designed around exon 3 of the PRH1 locus gave a 416-base product representing Db and a 353-base product representing the other two alleles (Pa or Pif). In Caucasians, Db gene frequency was 14%, similar to Db protein from parotid saliva. In African-Americans, however, it was 37%, 18% lower than Db from parotid saliva (reported previously). Compared with African-Americans, all Caucasians had significantly greater Streptococcus mutans colonization, but only Db-negative Caucasians had significantly more caries. Alleles linked to Db may explain racial differences in caries experience.
Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Colleges of Medicine, University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center, 940 S.L. Young Blvd., BMSB 940A, Oklahoma City, OK 73104, USA.
G M
GM
Zakhary
R M
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Clark
S I
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Bidichandani
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Owen
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Slayton
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Levine
D001741:Black or African American / Q000235:genetics*; D001483:Base Sequence; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D016009:Chi-Square Distribution; D002648:Child; D015169:Colony Count, Microbial; D004245:DMF Index; D003731:Dental Caries / Q000208:ethnology* / Q000235:genetics* / Q000382:microbiology; D005260:Female; D005787:Gene Frequency; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D010455:Peptides / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism; D055232:Proline-Rich Protein Domains; D012463:Saliva / Q000378:metabolism; D055273:Salivary Proline-Rich Proteins; D012471:Salivary Proteins and Peptides / Q000235:genetics; D017422:Sequence Analysis, DNA; D012923:Social Class; D013295:Streptococcus mutans / Q000302:isolation & purification; D044465:White People / Q000235:genetics*
C524536:PRH1 protein, human; C524764:PRH2 protein, human; D010455:Peptides; D055273:Salivary Proline-Rich Proteins; D012471:Salivary Proteins and Peptides