Adhesion of bovine and goat salivary proteins to dental enamel and silicate (short communication)

M Mau,C Müller,C Rehfeldt,T M Kaiser,J Langbein,J.-P Hildebrandt

doi:10.5194/aab-49-439-2006

Abstract

Abstract. Salivary proteins may help to prevent enamel abrasion and adverse chemical effects on teeth of herbivorous mammals. To detect potential candidates for protecting proteins, bovine and goat whole saliva were incubated with dental enamel and glass powder. Salivary proteins, bound to dental enamel and glass, were analysed by SDS-PAGE. Two distinct salivary proteins were found to adhere to bovine enamel and were identified by MS/MS mass spectrometry and protein sequencing. Both the bovine odorant-binding protein (bOBP) and the carbonic anhydrase VI (CA-VI) were components of the protein layers. The bovine CA-VI adherent to teeth may serve as a pH-regulator to protect bovine enamel from bacterial acids. The bOBP may bind odorant particles right in the oral cavity and enhance their transmission to the vomeronasal organ (VNO), the signals of which are important determinants in sexual behaviour of mammals. Another protein from bovine and goat saliva seemed to preferentially bind to glass beads. These results suggest that salivary proteins may support olfaction and protect teeth of ruminants from mechanical and chemical destruction.

Highlights

Research on the interactions between salivary proteins and dental tissues is vital primarily for dentists, and for evolutionists and ecologists working on farm and wild animals
Salivary proteins that bind to dental enamel could have a variety of functions
They may work as precursors for the recruitment of enzymes to dental tissues (JENSEN et al, 1992), as protective agents against mechanical damage (TABAK, 1995) or may act as enzymes removing deleterious metabolites (LAGERLÔF, 1998; HANNIG, 1997)

Summary

Introduction

Research on the interactions between salivary proteins and dental tissues is vital primarily for dentists, and for evolutionists and ecologists working on farm and wild animals. The interaction between salivary proteins and teeth may provide first protection against abrasive food particles such as phytoliths. Caries research in humans has revealed that salivary proteins, i.e. proline-rich proteins (PRP’s) and mucines, bind to dental enamel It has been proposed, that mechanical and chemical protection of tooth surfaces may result from such interactions (AMAECHI et al, 1999; DOWD, 1999; LAGERLÔF, 1998; HANNIG, 1997; TABAK, 1995; MEURMAN and FRANK, 1991). The knowledge of specific functional adaptations to different diets in the oral milieu of ruminant animals may increase our understanding of the evolution of the morphofunctional complex of the highly specialized digestive system in this extremely successful and diverse group of herbivores. The structure and binding properties of salivary proteins to dental tissues and food components could elucidate special adaptations to food and habitat resources

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