The human mucosal surface is colonized by the indigenous microflora, which normally maintains an ecological balance among different species. Certain environmental or biological factors, however, may trigger disruption of this balance, leading to microbial diseases. In this study, we used two oral bacterial species, Streptococcus mutans and Streptococcus sanguinis (formerly S. sanguis), as a mod...

Sphingosines affect the adherence of Streptococcus gordonii and Streptococcus sanguinis on hydroxyapatite. Abstract Sphingosines exhibit bactericidal activity on planktonic cells. However, their anti-adherence activity when adsorbed on hydroxyapatite (HA) surfaces is unknown. Therefore this study evaluated the anti-adherence activity of a variety of sphingosines and their derivatives against St...

An endogenous enzyme present in cell surface extracts of Streptococcus sanguis strain G9B degraded the major salivary adhesin of the organism. The enzyme showed optimal activity between 50 and 65 degrees C and was inactivated at higher temperatures. The activity at these unusually high temperatures seemed to be a consequence of release from the cell surface since intact whole G9B cells showed g...