Establishment of pathogenic oral biofilm regulation approach

2014 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 25862034
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Young Scientists (B)
• Allocation Type: Multi-year Fund
• Research Field: Orthodontics/Pediatric dentistry
• Research Institution: Nihon University
• Principal Investigator: ITO Tatsuro 日本大学, 松戸歯学部, 助教 (60635126)
• Research Collaborator: SENPUKU Hidenobu
• Project Period (FY): 2013-04-01 – 2015-03-31
• Keywords: 小児歯科学 / バイオフィルム / SspBペプチド

Outline of Final Research Achievements

The binding of S. mutans to the salivary pellicle is a key event in oral biofilm (B.F.) formation. In addition, B.F. is a reservoir of drug resistance genes. Hence, the establishment of a new biofilm control method, which differs from the conventional bactericidal or bacteriostatic approaches, has been desired.
(1) The binding activity of the SspB peptides to saliva was detected by ELISA. In the present study, SspB (A4K-A11K) peptide showed the highest level of binding to saliva. A4K-A11K inhibited adherence of S. mutans to saliva; however, the peptide did not affected oral commensal. (2) To determine if A4K-A11K has anti-microbial activity, A4K-A11K and 0.04% chlorhexidine (CHX) were applied into S. mutans cultures. CHX inhibited growth of S. mutans; whereas the A4K-A11K did not show growth inhibition. (3) A4K-A11K inhibited B.F. formation of S. mutans on the saliva-coated polystyrene plates.
A4K-A11K is available to regulate dental biofilm-dependent diseases such as caries.

Free Research Field

矯正・小児系歯学