Implications of salivary protein binding to commensal and pathogenic bacteria.
An important function of salivary proteins is to interact with microorganisms that enter the oral cavity. For some microbes, these interactions promote microbial colonization. For others, these interactions are deleterious and result in the elimination of the microbe from the mouth, This paper reviews recent studies of the interaction of salivary proteins with two model bacteria; the commensal speciesStreptococcus gordonii, and the facultative pathogenStaphylococcus aureus. These organisms selectively interact with a variety of salivary proteins to influence important functions such as bacterial adhesion to surfaces, evasion of host defense, bacterial nutrition and metabolism and gene expression.
Department of Periodontology, School of Dentistry, Chonbuk National University, Jeonju, Republic of Korea.
Seok-Mo
SM
Heo
Department of Oral Biology, The State University of New York at Buffalo, Buffalo, New York.
Stefan
S
Ruhl
Department of Oral Biology, The State University of New York at Buffalo, Buffalo, New York.
Frank A
FA
Scannapieco
Saliva; biofilm; microbial adhesion; oral diseases