Interactions between salivary Bifidobacterium adolescentis and other oral bacteria: in vitro coaggregation and coadhesion assays

Abstract

Coaggregation assays were performed to investigate interactions between oral Bifidobacterium adolescentis and other oral bacterial species. Bifidobacterium adolescentis OLB6410 isolated from the saliva of healthy humans did not coaggregate with Actinomyces naeslundii JCM8350, Streptococcus mitis OLS3293, Streptococcus sanguinis JCM5708, Veillonella parvula ATCC17745 or Porphyromonas gingivalis OB7124, but it did coaggregate with Fusobacterium nucleatum JCM8532. Subsequent examination of biofilm formation on saliva-coated hydroxyapatite discs using FISH revealed that B. adolescentis OLB6410 could not directly adhere to the coated discs. It did, however, adhere to biofilms of A. naeslundii, V. parvula, and F. nucleatum, although it did not coaggregate with A. naeslundii nor with V. parvula. These results suggest that the adhesion of B. adolescentis to tooth surfaces is mediated by other oral bacteria. Heat- or proteinase K-treated F. nucleatum could not coaggregate with B. adolescentis. Similarly, the coaggregation and coadhesion of proteinase K-treated B. adolescentis were strongly inhibited. It is therefore probable that proteinaceous factors on the cellular surface of B. adolescentis and F. nucleatum are involved in their interaction. The data presented in this study add to our understanding of bifidobacterial colonization in the human oral cavity.

Coinfection with Fusobacterium nucleatum can enhance the attachment and invasion of Porphyromonas gingivalis or Aggregatibacter actinomycetemcomitans to human gingival epithelial cells

“…7,8 In addition, F. nucleatum has been reported to interact with both P. gingivalis and A. actinomycetemcomitans. 12 Like other infectious diseases, the adhesion and subsequent invasion to epithelial surfaces by pathogens are critical steps in the initiation of periodontitis. 2 Invasive capacity of pathogens has been suggested as a potential pathogenic factor in periodontitis for decades.…”

Systems-level analysis of microbial community organization through combinatorial labeling and spectral imaging

“…Biochemical mediators of species-specific cell-to-cell adhesion, the cell-surface adhesins and receptors, have been elucidated by means of in vitro biochemical and genetic studies (e.g., refs. [19][20][21], leading to a general hypothesis for the structure of dental plaque (22). In addition, microscopic imaging studies using FISH or immunofluorescence to identify specific microbial taxa have confirmed some of the interspecies spatial relationships in dental plaque biofilms, but only for a few species or taxonomic groups in any single assay (e.g., [23][24][25][26][27].…”

Bacterial interactions in dental biofilm

“…coaggregation between F. nucleatum and many Gram-positive bacterial species has been observed, those coaggregations are rarely inhibited by sugars. 26,86,87 Thus, intergeneric coaggregation between F. nucleatum and Gram-negative organisms is significantly distinct from F. nucleatum binding to Gram-positive bacteria.…”