Bacterial adhesion to the soft and hard tissues of the oral cavity

Abstract

This paper reviews current knowledge of protein‐mediated attachment of oral bacteria to the soft and hard tissues of the oral cavity. In relation to soft tissue attachment, the central role of lectin‐carbohydrate interactions is discussed, together with the potential role of interbacterial coaggregation. The review also presents some current studies on the attachment of strains of Streptococcus oralis, Streptococcus sanguis and Streptococcus mutatis to hydroxyapatite (HA) coated with a range of low molecular weight salivary proteins. The salivary proteins were obtained from human whole saliva by chromatography on Sepharose 4B and further fractionated on DEAE‐Sephacel. Fractions were characterised for protein, carbohydrate and anionic determinants such as sulphate and phosphate. The hydrophobicity of the fractions was determined by their affinity for Octyl‐Sepharose. Selected proteins were attached to HA (20 mg) at a range of concentrations from 20 μg.ml‐1 to 200 μg.m‐1. (3H)‐thymidine labelled cells of S....