Linked Life Data

16849803

Source:http://linkedlifedata.com/resource/pubmed/id/16849803

Statements in which the resource exists as a subject.
PredicateObject
rdf:type
lifeskim:mentions
pubmed:issue
Pt 8
pubmed:dateCreated
2006-7-19
pubmed:abstractText
Streptococcus mutans is known as a primary pathogen responsible for dental caries. One of the virulence factors of S. mutans in cariogenicity is its ability to attach to the tooth surface and form a biofilm. Several surface proteins have been shown to be involved in this process. A 29 kDa surface protein named wall-associated protein A (WapA, antigen A or antigen III), was previously used as a vaccine in animal studies for immunization against dental caries. However, the function of WapA in S. mutans is still not clear. This study characterized the function of WapA in cell surface structure and biofilm formation. Compared to the wild-type, the wapA mutant had much-reduced cell chain length, diminished cell-cell aggregation, altered cell surface ultrastructure, and unstructured biofilm architecture. Furthermore, in vivo force spectroscopy revealed that the cell surface of the wapA mutant was less sticky than that of the wild-type cells. More interestingly, these phenotypic differences diminished as sucrose concentration in the medium was increased to 0.5 %. Real-time RT-PCR analysis demonstrated that sucrose strongly repressed wapA gene expression in both planktonic and biofilm cells. These results suggest that the WapA protein plays an important structural role on the cell surface, which ultimately affects sucrose-independent cell-cell aggregation and biofilm architecture.
pubmed:grant
pubmed:language
eng
pubmed:journal
pubmed:citationSubset
IM
pubmed:chemical
pubmed:status
MEDLINE
pubmed:month
Aug
pubmed:issn
1350-0872
pubmed:author
pubmed:issnType
Print
pubmed:volume
152
pubmed:owner
NLM
pubmed:authorsComplete
Y
pubmed:pagination
2395-404
pubmed:dateRevised
2007-11-14
pubmed:meshHeading
pubmed:year
2006
pubmed:articleTitle
Functional characterization of cell-wall-associated protein WapA in Streptococcus mutans.
pubmed:affiliation
School of Dentistry, University of California, Los Angeles, CA 90095, USA.
pubmed:publicationType
Journal Article, Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't, Research Support, N.I.H., Extramural