Factors Influencing Aggregation and Adhesion of Oral Lactobacillus gasseri

Abstract

Lactobacillus gasseri is one of the Lactobacillus species, which has been considered as an oral probiotic. The probiotic characters, e.g., the aggregation and adhesion abilities, may be affected by the changes in the oral environment. This study aimed to investigate the effect of cell surface components, some enzymes, pH, sugars, and ions on the aggregation (auto- and coaggregation) abilities of oral L. gasseri and on the ability to adhere to oral epithelial cells. The control group contained the bacteria in pH 7.0 solution. The results indicated that the cell surface-related protein components were essential for the aggregation and internalized adhering abilities of L. gasseri. For environmental factors, amylase, calcium ion, and magnesium ion significantly increased both autoaggregation and coaggregation ability, while these abilities were significantly decreased by lactose. The coaggregation between L. gasseri and S. mutans ATCC 25175TM was significantly increased by pH 4.0, whereas glucose, sucrose, trypsin, and lysozyme significantly decreased the coaggregation. The adhesion was significantly increased by pH 4.0, pH 8.0, calcium ion, and magnesium ion, whereas enzymes and sugars did not affect this ability. These traits could be used for the preliminary screening of the potential candidates of probiotics with possible anti-caries properties.