Detection of oral streptococci with collagen-binding properties in saliva specimens from mothers and their children.
BACKGROUND
Approximately 10-20% of Streptococcus mutans strains have been reported to possess collagen-binding properties, whereas other species in the oral cavity with those properties remain to be elucidated. Aim. To identify strains with collagen-binding properties and analyse their characteristics in comparison with S. mutans.


METHODS
A total of 110 expectorated saliva specimens were collected from 55 pairs of mothers and their children. Bacterial strains with collagen-binding properties were isolated and the species specified. In addition, strains with collagen-binding properties isolated from mother-child pairs were analysed using molecular biological approaches.


RESULTS
The detection frequency of strains with collagen-binding properties was shown to be 40.9%, among which S. salivarius was the most frequently detected, followed by S. mutans. The collagen-binding activity of the S. mutans group was the highest, followed by S. salivarius. In addition, S. mutans and S. salivarius strains from 3 and 1 mother-child pairs, respectively, were shown to be the same clones.


CONCLUSIONS
Our results indicate that S. mutans and S. salivarius are major species with collagen-binding properties in the oral cavity, and that strains with such properties may be related to mother-child transmission.
Department of Pediatric Dentistry, Osaka University Graduate School of Dentistry, Osaka, Japan.
Ryota
R
Nomura
Shuhei
S
Naka
Kazuhiko
K
Nakano
Naho
N
Taniguchi
Michiyo
M
Matsumoto
Takashi
T
Ooshima
D000328:Adult; D001422:Bacterial Adhesion / Q000502:physiology*; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D024042:Collagen Type I / Q000378:metabolism*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D008967:Molecular Biology; D009034:Mother-Child Relations; D009055:Mouth / Q000382:microbiology*; D011485:Protein Binding; D012463:Saliva / Q000382:microbiology*; D012703:Serotyping; D013291:Streptococcus / Q000145:classification* / Q000378:metabolism; D034361:Streptococcus mitis / Q000302:isolation & purification / Q000378:metabolism; D013295:Streptococcus mutans / Q000302:isolation & purification / Q000378:metabolism; D055815:Young Adult
D024042:Collagen Type I