2013 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

Efficacy estimation of eel lectin as a new agent to prevent periodontal disease

Research Project

Project/Area Number	24792339
Research Category	Grant-in-Aid for Young Scientists (B)
Allocation Type	Multi-year Fund
Research Field	Periodontal dentistry
Research Institution	Tokyo Dental College
Principal Investigator	TAKAYAMA Saori 東京歯科大学, 歯学部, 助教 (00550013)
Project Period (FY)	2012-04-01 – 2014-03-31
Keywords	ウナギレクチン / 歯周病原細菌 / 内毒素 / 炎症性サイトカイン / バイオフィルム
Research Abstract	Periodotitis is infectious disease induced by periodontal pathogens. Many natural antibacterial substances have been reported as useful agents in the prevention and treatment of periodontal disease. We have reported that galectin AJL-1 found in skin mucus of eel possessed some useful abilities against periodontal pathogen. AJL-2 is a lectin, also found in skin mucus of eel, and we focused it in this study. We investigated the inhibitory effects of AJL-2 on the endotoxin-mediated inflammatory cytokine-inducing activities of periodontopathic bacteria, and on the biofilm formation by those pathogens. Then, AJL-2 inhibited inducing of the cytokine, but it showed no inhibitory effect on the biofilm formation as well as AJL-1. Further investigations about the difference of mechanism between these two substances are required to develop a new agent for more effective periodontal therapy.