Quantification of the Adhesion Strength of Candida albicans to Tooth Enamel

Abstract

Caries is one of the most prevalent diseases worldwide, which is caused by the degradation of the tooth enamel surface. In earlier research the opportunistic pathogen Candida albicans has been associated with the formation of caries in children. Colonization of teeth by C. albicans starts with the initial adhesion of individual yeast cells to the tooth enamel surface. In this study, we visualized the initial colonization of C. albicans yeast cells on pellicle-covered enamel by scanning electron microscopy. To quantitatively unravel the initial adhesion strength, we applied fluidic force microscopy-based single-cell force spectroscopy to examine the key adhesion parameters adhesion force, rupture length and de-adhesion work. We analyzed single saliva-treated or untreated yeast cells on tooth enamel specimens with or without salivary pellicle. Under all tested conditions, adhesion forces in the lower nanonewton range were determined. Furthermore, we have found that all adhesion parameters were enhanced on the pellicle-covered compared to the uncovered enamel. Our data suggest that initial adhesion occurs through a strong interaction between yeast cell wall-associated adhesins and the salivary pellicle. Future SCFS studies may show whether specific management of the salivary pellicle reduces the adhesion of C. albicans on teeth and thus contributes to caries prophylaxis.

Characterization of a unique attachment organelle: Single-cell force spectroscopy of Giardia duodenalis trophozoites

“…Both cell types are well characterized in terms of adhesion and had been subject of various studies investigating their attachment mechanisms. [18][19][20]22,23,29,30 To allow for comparisons, both cell types were allowed to adhere to the same glass surface, which was used to study the attachment of Giardia trophozoites. For these two types of eukaryotic species, we selected shorter attachment times (15-60 min), if compared to the rather extended attachment time for G. duodenalis of 48 hours.…”

“…16 During the last two decades, atomic force microscopy (AFM) has emerged as a tremendously valuable tool to study the adhesive properties of single bacterial, fungal or mammalian cells. [16][17][18][19][20][21][22][23][24][25][26][27] In this approach, a biofunctionalized AFM probe (i.e. a cantilever harbouring a cell on its one end) allows to analyse specific adhesion and detachment characteristics between microbes and a substratum and to read out adhesion parameters from force-distance curves.…”

Cell Adhesion, Elasticity, and Rupture Forces Guide Microbial Cell Death on Nanostructured Antimicrobial Titanium Surfaces

“…It encompasses cellular forces from the cell wall, appendage, and surface molecules as well as physical phenomena, such as cell deformation, contraction, and stretching, which all contribute to cell-surface adhesion. This value is calculated as the area between the retraction and approach curve via integration and has also been referred to as adhesion energy, deadhesion work, or detachment . Third are the untethering events where discrete cell-surface unbinding events can be observed as step-like, sawtooth events in the force profile, often following the F adh Max. , These events are attributed to the unbinding of either individual or aggregate cell components from the substrate, such as biomolecules, receptors, proteins, cell appendages, adhesins, nonspecific adhesive interactions, capillary behavior, molecular bonding, steric effects, fluctuation forces, and solvation forces. , It is important to note that these events cannot be distinguished within the curve, as surface tethering is multifaceted and often represents multiple simultaneous detachment events.…”

“…It encompasses cellular forces from the cell wall, appendage, and surface molecules as well as physical phenomena, such as cell deformation, contraction, and stretching, which all contribute to cell-surface adhesion. This value is calculated as the area between the retraction and approach curve via integration 57 and has also been referred to as adhesion energy, 82 deadhesion work, 83 or detachment. 84 Third are the untethering events where discrete cell-surface unbinding events can be observed as step-like, sawtooth events in the force profile, often following the F adh Max.…”

Recent advances in single-cell subcellular sampling

“…There may be additional difficulties with dispensing or biomolecule release from the probe. FluidFM is a technique first reported by Meister et al 63 that addresses some of the problems with AFM probing and has biological applications in subcellular sampling, 18,[64][65][66][67] controlled delivery or injection into cells, 63,[66][67][68] pick and place and patterning of cells, [69][70][71] cellular adhesion interactions and surface properties, [72][73][74][75][76][77][78] cellular electrophysiology 79 and single-cell sensing. 80 The current review focuses on extractions of cellular This journal is © The Royal Society of Chemistry 2023 components from living cells, but other extensive reviews are available for applications outside this area.…”