Abstract
The requirements of human salivary mucins for aggregating potential towards the common cariogenic oral bacteria, S. mutans and S. sanguis, were investigated. Agglutination inhibition assays demonstrated that the aggregating capacity towards bacteria resides in the acidic mucin fraction. The inhibitory activity of the acidic mucin decreased only 2-4-fold following removal of sialic acid, whereas the desulfation caused a complete loss of the inhibitory potential against both bacteria. Furthermore, the aggregating capacity of mucin-derived sulfated oligosaccharide was found to be 16-fold higher than that of the sialic acid containing oligosaccharide. The results point towards the importance of salivary sulfomucins as a predominant factor in the defense of oral cavity against cariogenic bacteria.
| Original language | English (US) |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 713-721 |
| Number of pages | 9 |
| Journal | Biochemistry and Molecular Biology International |
| Volume | 32 |
| Issue number | 4 |
| State | Published - 1994 |
All Science Journal Classification (ASJC) codes
- Biochemistry
- Molecular Biology
- Genetics