Association between Antimicrobial Peptide Histatin 5 Levels and Prevalence of Candida in Saliva of Patients with Down Syndrome.

Tomoko Komatsu,Nobushiro Hamada,Eva Helmerhorst,Masaichi Chang-Il Lee,Kiyoko Watanabe,Frank Oppenheim

doi:10.3390/antibiotics10050494

Tomoko Komatsu, Nobushiro Hamada + Show 4 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.3390/antibiotics10050494

Copy DOI

Abstract

There are no studies on Candida colonization and micropeptides of saliva in any patient. Therefore, we studied the effects of the salivary antimicrobial peptide histatin 5 on oral fungal colonization; subjects were subdivided into Down syndrome (D) and normal (N) groups by age: N-1 and D-1, age <20 years; N-2 and D-2, age >40 years. Histatin 5 concentration in saliva was measured by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. Oral Candida species were identified using CHROMagar Candida. Candida colonization was significantly enhanced in the D-1 and D-2 groups compared to the N-1 and N-2 groups. There was no predominant difference in salivary histatin 5 concentration between the D-1 and N-1 groups, but it was significantly lower in the D-2 group than in the N-2 group. Only in the N-2 group was there a correlation between the concentration of histatin 5 and total protein, while no correlation was found in the other groups. In elderly patients with Down syndrome, the decrease in histatin 5 shown in this study may lead to oral Candida colony formation. Therefore, the results of this study suggest that a deficiency of the antimicrobial peptide histatin 5 could possibly induce oral Candida infection in DS.

Highlights

Down syndrome (DS), an autosomal abnormality, is a disorder caused by trisomy of chromosome 21 [1] and displays many functional and physical characteristics including intellectual impairment, congenital heart disease, leukemia, dementia, and increased susceptibility to infection [2,3].DS is characterized by immune system malfunctions including cell responses [4], humoral immunity, and inflammatory cells.Much of the normal microbiota present in the oral cavity becomes pathogenic when the host’s defense system, i.e., the immune system, is weakened
The oral cavity is a rich habitat for microorganisms such as bacteria, fungi, and viruses, which are in good harmony with their human hosts
The relationship between microorganisms and the human host seems to be related to the immune status of each individual

Summary

Introduction

Down syndrome (DS), an autosomal abnormality, is a disorder caused by trisomy of chromosome 21 [1] and displays many functional and physical characteristics including intellectual impairment, congenital heart disease, leukemia, dementia, and increased susceptibility to infection (especially respiratory infections and periodontal disease) [2,3].DS is characterized by immune system malfunctions including cell responses [4], humoral immunity, and inflammatory cells.Much of the normal microbiota present in the oral cavity becomes pathogenic when the host’s defense system, i.e., the immune system, is weakened. Down syndrome (DS), an autosomal abnormality, is a disorder caused by trisomy of chromosome 21 [1] and displays many functional and physical characteristics including intellectual impairment, congenital heart disease, leukemia, dementia, and increased susceptibility to infection (especially respiratory infections and periodontal disease) [2,3]. DS is characterized by immune system malfunctions including cell responses [4], humoral immunity, and inflammatory cells. Much of the normal microbiota present in the oral cavity becomes pathogenic when the host’s defense system, i.e., the immune system, is weakened. The prevalence of Candida in the oral cavity has been reported to be 45–65% in normal children [6] and 30–45% in normal adults [5]. C. albicans is a potent endogenous fungus, and 26–44% of healthy individuals without mucosal disease have been found to be oral carriers of C. albicans [7]

Methods

Results

Discussion

Conclusion