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Natural History of Streptococcus sanguinis in the Oral Cavity of Infants: Evidence for a Discrete Window of Infectivity
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| Zeitschriftentitel: | Infection and Immunity |
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| Personen und Körperschaften: | , , , , , |
| In: | Infection and Immunity, 68, 2000, 7, S. 4018-4023 |
| Format: | E-Article |
| Sprache: | Englisch |
| veröffentlicht: |
American Society for Microbiology
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| Schlagwörter: |
| Zusammenfassung: | <jats:title>ABSTRACT</jats:title> <jats:p> The heterogeneous group of oral bacteria within the sanguinis (sanguis) streptococci comprise members of the indigenous biota of the human oral cavity. While the association of <jats:italic>Streptococcus sanguinis</jats:italic> with bacterial endocarditis is well described in the literature, <jats:italic>S. sanguinis</jats:italic> is thought to play a benign, if not a beneficial, role in the oral cavity. Little is known, however, about the natural history of <jats:italic>S. sanguinis</jats:italic> and its specific relationship with other oral bacteria. As part of a longitudinal study concerning the transmission and acquisition of oral bacteria within mother-infant pairs, we examined the initial acquisition of <jats:italic>S. sanguinis</jats:italic> and described its colonization relative to tooth emergence and its proportions in plaque and saliva as a function of other biological events, including subsequent colonization with mutans streptococci. A second cohort of infants was recruited to define the taxonomic affiliation of <jats:italic>S. sanguinis</jats:italic> . We found that the colonization of the <jats:italic>S. sanguinis</jats:italic> occurs during a discrete “window of infectivity” at a median age of 9 months in the infants. Its colonization is tooth dependent and correlated to the time of tooth emergence; its proportions in saliva increase as new teeth emerge. In addition, early colonization of <jats:italic>S. sanguinis</jats:italic> and its elevated levels in the oral cavity were correlated to a significant delay in the colonization of mutans streptococci. Underpinning this apparent antagonism between <jats:italic>S. sanguinis</jats:italic> and mutans streptococci is the observation that after mutans streptococci colonize the infant, the levels of <jats:italic>S. sanguinis</jats:italic> decrease. Children who do not harbor detectable levels of mutans streptococci have significantly higher levels of <jats:italic>S. sanguinis</jats:italic> in their saliva than do children colonized with mutans streptococci. Collectively, these findings suggest that the colonization of <jats:italic>S. sanguinis</jats:italic> may influence the subsequent colonization of mutans streptococci, and this in turn may suggest several ecological approaches toward controlling dental caries. </jats:p> |
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| Umfang: | 4018-4023 |
| ISSN: |
0019-9567
1098-5522 |
| DOI: | 10.1128/iai.68.7.4018-4023.2000 |