Dental caries, the disease that causes tooth decay, is infectious, and the mutans streptococci bacteria have long been identified as the primary disease-causing agents. Caries vaccines showed promising results in expe...Dental caries, the disease that causes tooth decay, is infectious, and the mutans streptococci bacteria have long been identified as the primary disease-causing agents. Caries vaccines showed promising results in experimental studies;however, it remains far the effective use in humans due to political-economic and ethical issues. Progress towards practical vaccine development requires evaluation of candidate vaccines in clinical trials. Promising strategies of passive immunization also require further clinical evaluation. The purpose of this chapter is to review the literature on the main research projects aimed at developing caries vaccines.展开更多
Chlorhexidine (CHX) is regarded as one of the most successful antiplaque agents in controlling the formation of dental biofilm. Nevertheless, molecular mechanisms of their effects in Streptococcus mutans are largely u...Chlorhexidine (CHX) is regarded as one of the most successful antiplaque agents in controlling the formation of dental biofilm. Nevertheless, molecular mechanisms of their effects in Streptococcus mutans are largely unknown. In this work, the effects of sub-lethal and lethal concentrations of chlorhexidine (CHX) on planktonic or biofilm-organized Streptococcus mutans cells were investigated in dose- and time-dependent manner. The Minimum Inhibitory Concentration (MIC) and the Minimum Bactericidal Concentration (MBC) for planktonic cells and biofilm conditions were determined by standard methods. Quantitative PCR (qPCR) was used to quantify the relative levels of glucosyltransferase B (gtfB), gtfC and gtfD transcription of S. mutans in the presence of CHX. The CHX activity in the initial biofilm structure and morphological alterations in planktonic cells were examined by Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM). The results indicate that CHX increased expression of gtfC and gtfD in planktonic S. mutans cells and CHX reduced the expression of gtfB, gtfC, and gtfD in biofilms. High concentrations of CHX resulted in several wilted S. mutans planktonic cells with spilled intracellular material, while decreased cells’ chain length and matrix was found when the initial biofilm was exposed to increasing concentrations of CHX. CHX’s effects against bacteria depend on the type of growth organization and the concentration and time of exposure to the drug. At sub-lethal concentrations, CHX affects the expression of glucosyltransferases, which may have anticariogenic effect.展开更多
文摘Dental caries, the disease that causes tooth decay, is infectious, and the mutans streptococci bacteria have long been identified as the primary disease-causing agents. Caries vaccines showed promising results in experimental studies;however, it remains far the effective use in humans due to political-economic and ethical issues. Progress towards practical vaccine development requires evaluation of candidate vaccines in clinical trials. Promising strategies of passive immunization also require further clinical evaluation. The purpose of this chapter is to review the literature on the main research projects aimed at developing caries vaccines.
基金supported by Fundacao de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de Sao Paulo,FAPESP(proc.#07/56100-2),Conselho Nacional de Pesquisa,CNPq(proc.#483794/2006-6 and proc.#472988/2009-3)and Coordenacao de Aperfeicoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior(CAPES)RNS and ACBS were supported by FAPESP(#06/55933-8)and CAPES(PNPD/2010),respectively.
文摘Chlorhexidine (CHX) is regarded as one of the most successful antiplaque agents in controlling the formation of dental biofilm. Nevertheless, molecular mechanisms of their effects in Streptococcus mutans are largely unknown. In this work, the effects of sub-lethal and lethal concentrations of chlorhexidine (CHX) on planktonic or biofilm-organized Streptococcus mutans cells were investigated in dose- and time-dependent manner. The Minimum Inhibitory Concentration (MIC) and the Minimum Bactericidal Concentration (MBC) for planktonic cells and biofilm conditions were determined by standard methods. Quantitative PCR (qPCR) was used to quantify the relative levels of glucosyltransferase B (gtfB), gtfC and gtfD transcription of S. mutans in the presence of CHX. The CHX activity in the initial biofilm structure and morphological alterations in planktonic cells were examined by Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM). The results indicate that CHX increased expression of gtfC and gtfD in planktonic S. mutans cells and CHX reduced the expression of gtfB, gtfC, and gtfD in biofilms. High concentrations of CHX resulted in several wilted S. mutans planktonic cells with spilled intracellular material, while decreased cells’ chain length and matrix was found when the initial biofilm was exposed to increasing concentrations of CHX. CHX’s effects against bacteria depend on the type of growth organization and the concentration and time of exposure to the drug. At sub-lethal concentrations, CHX affects the expression of glucosyltransferases, which may have anticariogenic effect.
