Skip to main content
  • ASM
    • Antimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy
    • Applied and Environmental Microbiology
    • Clinical Microbiology Reviews
    • Clinical and Vaccine Immunology
    • EcoSal Plus
    • Eukaryotic Cell
    • Infection and Immunity
    • Journal of Bacteriology
    • Journal of Clinical Microbiology
    • Journal of Microbiology & Biology Education
    • Journal of Virology
    • mBio
    • Microbiology and Molecular Biology Reviews
    • Microbiology Resource Announcements
    • Microbiology Spectrum
    • Molecular and Cellular Biology
    • mSphere
    • mSystems
  • Log in
  • My alerts
  • My Cart

Main menu

  • Home
  • Articles
    • Current Issue
    • Accepted Manuscripts
    • COVID-19 Special Collection
    • Archive
    • Minireviews
  • For Authors
    • Submit a Manuscript
    • Scope
    • Editorial Policy
    • Submission, Review, & Publication Processes
    • Organization and Format
    • Errata, Author Corrections, Retractions
    • Illustrations and Tables
    • Nomenclature
    • Abbreviations and Conventions
    • Publication Fees
    • Ethics Resources and Policies
  • About the Journal
    • About AEM
    • Editor in Chief
    • Editorial Board
    • For Reviewers
    • For the Media
    • For Librarians
    • For Advertisers
    • Alerts
    • RSS
    • FAQ
  • Subscribe
    • Members
    • Institutions
  • ASM
    • Antimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy
    • Applied and Environmental Microbiology
    • Clinical Microbiology Reviews
    • Clinical and Vaccine Immunology
    • EcoSal Plus
    • Eukaryotic Cell
    • Infection and Immunity
    • Journal of Bacteriology
    • Journal of Clinical Microbiology
    • Journal of Microbiology & Biology Education
    • Journal of Virology
    • mBio
    • Microbiology and Molecular Biology Reviews
    • Microbiology Resource Announcements
    • Microbiology Spectrum
    • Molecular and Cellular Biology
    • mSphere
    • mSystems

User menu

  • Log in
  • My alerts
  • My Cart

Search

  • Advanced search
Applied and Environmental Microbiology
publisher-logosite-logo

Advanced Search

  • Home
  • Articles
    • Current Issue
    • Accepted Manuscripts
    • COVID-19 Special Collection
    • Archive
    • Minireviews
  • For Authors
    • Submit a Manuscript
    • Scope
    • Editorial Policy
    • Submission, Review, & Publication Processes
    • Organization and Format
    • Errata, Author Corrections, Retractions
    • Illustrations and Tables
    • Nomenclature
    • Abbreviations and Conventions
    • Publication Fees
    • Ethics Resources and Policies
  • About the Journal
    • About AEM
    • Editor in Chief
    • Editorial Board
    • For Reviewers
    • For the Media
    • For Librarians
    • For Advertisers
    • Alerts
    • RSS
    • FAQ
  • Subscribe
    • Members
    • Institutions
Physiology

Salivary Mucins Protect Surfaces from Colonization by Cariogenic Bacteria

Erica Shapiro Frenkel, Katharina Ribbeck
J. L. Schottel, Editor
Erica Shapiro Frenkel
aBiological Sciences in Dental Medicine, Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA
bDepartment of Biological Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA
  • Find this author on Google Scholar
  • Find this author on PubMed
  • Search for this author on this site
Katharina Ribbeck
bDepartment of Biological Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA
  • Find this author on Google Scholar
  • Find this author on PubMed
  • Search for this author on this site
J. L. Schottel
Roles: Editor
  • Find this author on Google Scholar
  • Find this author on PubMed
  • Search for this author on this site
DOI: 10.1128/AEM.02573-14
  • Article
  • Figures & Data
  • Info & Metrics
  • PDF
Loading

ABSTRACT

Understanding how the body's natural defenses function to protect the oral cavity from the myriad of bacteria that colonize its surfaces is an ongoing topic of research that can lead to breakthroughs in treatment and prevention. One key defense mechanism on all moist epithelial linings, such as the mouth, gastrointestinal tract, and lungs, is a layer of thick, well-hydrated mucus. The main gel-forming components of mucus are mucins, large glycoproteins that play a key role in host defense. This study focuses on elucidating the connection between MUC5B salivary mucins and dental caries, one of the most common oral diseases. Dental caries is predominantly caused by Streptococcus mutans attachment and biofilm formation on the tooth surface. Once S. mutans attaches to the tooth, it produces organic acids as metabolic by-products that dissolve tooth enamel, leading to cavity formation. We utilize CFU counts and fluorescence microscopy to quantitatively show that S. mutans attachment and biofilm formation are most robust in the presence of sucrose and that aqueous solutions of purified human MUC5B protect surfaces by acting as an antibiofouling agent in the presence of sucrose. In addition, we find that MUC5B does not alter S. mutans growth and decreases surface attachment and biofilm formation by maintaining S. mutans in the planktonic form. These insights point to the importance of salivary mucins in oral health and lead to a better understanding of how MUC5B could play a role in cavity prevention or diagnosis.

  • Copyright © 2015, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.
View Full Text
PreviousNext
Back to top
Download PDF
Citation Tools
Salivary Mucins Protect Surfaces from Colonization by Cariogenic Bacteria
Erica Shapiro Frenkel, Katharina Ribbeck
Applied and Environmental Microbiology Dec 2014, 81 (1) 332-338; DOI: 10.1128/AEM.02573-14

Citation Manager Formats

  • BibTeX
  • Bookends
  • EasyBib
  • EndNote (tagged)
  • EndNote 8 (xml)
  • Medlars
  • Mendeley
  • Papers
  • RefWorks Tagged
  • Ref Manager
  • RIS
  • Zotero
Print

Alerts
Sign In to Email Alerts with your Email Address
Email

Thank you for sharing this Applied and Environmental Microbiology article.

NOTE: We request your email address only to inform the recipient that it was you who recommended this article, and that it is not junk mail. We do not retain these email addresses.

Enter multiple addresses on separate lines or separate them with commas.
Salivary Mucins Protect Surfaces from Colonization by Cariogenic Bacteria
(Your Name) has forwarded a page to you from Applied and Environmental Microbiology
(Your Name) thought you would be interested in this article in Applied and Environmental Microbiology.
CAPTCHA
This question is for testing whether or not you are a human visitor and to prevent automated spam submissions.
Share
Salivary Mucins Protect Surfaces from Colonization by Cariogenic Bacteria
Erica Shapiro Frenkel, Katharina Ribbeck
Applied and Environmental Microbiology Dec 2014, 81 (1) 332-338; DOI: 10.1128/AEM.02573-14
del.icio.us logo Digg logo Reddit logo Twitter logo CiteULike logo Facebook logo Google logo Mendeley logo
  • Top
  • Article
    • ABSTRACT
    • INTRODUCTION
    • MATERIALS AND METHODS
    • RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
    • ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
    • FOOTNOTES
    • REFERENCES
  • Figures & Data
  • Info & Metrics
  • PDF

Related Articles

Cited By...

About

  • About AEM
  • Editor in Chief
  • Editorial Board
  • Policies
  • For Reviewers
  • For the Media
  • For Librarians
  • For Advertisers
  • Alerts
  • RSS
  • FAQ
  • Permissions
  • Journal Announcements

Authors

  • ASM Author Center
  • Submit a Manuscript
  • Article Types
  • Ethics
  • Contact Us

Follow #AppEnvMicro

@ASMicrobiology

       

ASM Journals

ASM journals are the most prominent publications in the field, delivering up-to-date and authoritative coverage of both basic and clinical microbiology.

About ASM | Contact Us | Press Room

 

ASM is a member of

Scientific Society Publisher Alliance

 

American Society for Microbiology
1752 N St. NW
Washington, DC 20036
Phone: (202) 737-3600

Copyright © 2021 American Society for Microbiology | Privacy Policy | Website feedback

 

Print ISSN: 0099-2240; Online ISSN: 1098-5336