title: Streptococcus mutans antigen I/II and autoimmunity in cardiovascular diseases.
abstract: Infectious pathogens from the oral cavity cause oral diseases such as caries, gingivitis, periodontitis, endodontic infections, and alveolar osteitis, and often are also concomitant to systemic diseases, including cardiovascular disorders, stroke, preterm birth, diabetes, and pneumonia, among others. The relationship(s) between oral infections and systemic diseases are still unclear. Using the bacterial cell surface antigen I/II from S. mutans and cardiovascular diseases as a model, this study analyzes peptide commonalities that might underlie autoimmune crossreactions between the bacterial antigen and human proteins associated with cardiovascular disorders. The study outlines a vast peptide sharing that calls attention on autoimmune crossreactivity as a possible mechanism by which S. mutans infection might contribute to induce cardiovascular diseases, and, more in general, offers a new approach to investigate the still elusive molecular links between focal oral infections and human systemic diseases.
authors.affiliation: Multidisciplinary Department of Medical-Surgical and Odontostomatological Specialties, University of Campania 'Luigi Vanvitelli', Via de Crecchio 6, 80138 Naples, Italy. Electronic address: alberta.lucchese@unicampania.it.
authors.forename: Alberta
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Lucchese
mesh_terms: D000942:Antigens, Bacterial / Q000276:immunology*; D015551:Autoimmunity / Q000276:immunology*; D002318:Cardiovascular Diseases / Q000821:virology*; D006801:Humans; D013295:Streptococcus mutans / Q000235:genetics*
chemical_list: D000942:Antigens, Bacterial
keywords: Autoimmunity; Cardiovascular autoantigens; Crossreactivity; Peptide sharing; S. mutans antigen I/II; Theory of focal infection