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Stress as a Determinant of Saliva-Mediated Adherence and Coadherence of Oral and Nonoral Microorganisms

From Department of Dental Basic Sciences (J.A.B, M.T., K.N., E.C.I.V., A.V.N.A), Section Oral Biochemistry, Academic Centre for Dentistry Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands; Department of Oral Biology (J.A.B), The Ohio State University, Columbus, Ohio; Faculty of Psychology, Department of Biological Psychology (E.J.C.D.G.), Vrije Universiteit, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.

View larger version (13K): [in a new window]   Fig. 1. The stepwise process of oral microbial colonization. 1) After secretion, a process almost exclusively governed by the autonomic nervous system, the salivary proteins form a pellicle on the host’s tissues. Typical constituents of this pellicle are the mucins (eg, MUC7) and various other secretory proteins such as lactoferrin, S-IgA, and -amylase. 2) Whereas this pellicle may form a barrier against colonization by some microorganisms, other microorganisms have the capacity to use this pellicle as a means to adhere to the tissues of the host. Examples of the latter are viridans streptococci such as S. sanguis and S. gordonii. 3) Adherence leads to the formation of an adhesive microbial layer that subsequently may promote colonization of other microorganisms through coadherence (ie, adherence among microbial species). The secretory proteins also play an important role in this coadherence by inhibiting some microbe-microbe interactions although promoting others. Inhibition of coadherence is caused when secretory proteins block microbial receptors, hereby preventing binding to other microorganisms. Promotion of coadherence may occur when two microbial species carry receptors for the same salivary protein; hereby these microbial receptors become "cross-linked" by their common salivary ligand.

View larger version (13K): [in a new window]   Fig. 2. Saliva-mediated adherence of three species of oral streptococci during the control condition, memory test, and surgical video. Dots indicate means, vertical bars indicate SEM. For statistical analyses, the changes within each stressor condition were contrasted with the changes within the control condition (ie, time by condition interaction). Time x condition; *p < .05; **p < .01; ***p < .001.

View larger version (17K): [in a new window]   Fig. 3. Saliva-mediated adherence of H. pylori during the control condition, memory test, and surgical video. Dots indicate means, vertical bars indicate SEM. For statistical analyses, the changes within each stressor condition were contrasted with the changes within the control condition (ie, time by condition interaction). Time x condition; *p < .05; **p < .01; ***p < .001.

View larger version (21K): [in a new window]   Fig. 4. Coadherence of the yeast C. albicans to saliva-coated layers of S. gordonii during the control condition, memory test, and surgical video. Dots indicate means, vertical bars indicate SEM. For statistical analyses, the changes within each stressor condition were contrasted with the changes within the control condition (ie, time by condition interaction). Time x condition; *p < .05; **p < .01; ***p < .001.