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DENTAL CARIES VACCINES: PROSPECTS AND CONCERNS

Department of Immunology, The Forsyth Institute, 140 The Fenway, Boston, MA 02115; dsmith{at}forsyth.org

View larger version (40K): [in a new window]   Figure 1. Mutans streptococcal (MS) colonization of humans in the first three years of life. The percentage of children colonized with mutans streptococci is indicated on the ordinate. Percentages reflect children under modest maternal challenge (approximately 50% colonized) or children exposed to high maternal levels (approximately 90% colonized). If high maternal MS levels (dose) are combined with significant exposure to dietary sucrose, initial dental colonization with MS occurs at a younger age.

View larger version (47K): [in a new window]   Figure 2. Appearance of salivary IgA antibody to indigenous oral flora and antigens of immunization. The appearance of salivary IgA antibody (Ab) to micro-organisms associated with indigenous infection or immunization is indicated by arrows. The percentages of children infected with indigenous oral streptococci (S. mitis, S. salivarius, S. sanguis, S. mutans) are indicated by the bars. Data are summarized from Smith and Taubman, 1992, 1993.

View larger version (40K): [in a new window]   Figure 3. Models of mutans streptococcal (MS) colonization and accumulation in dental biofilms.

View larger version (32K): [in a new window]   Figure 4. Association of synthetic peptides with putative regions of glucosyltransferase function. Lines indicate the approximate location in the GTF sequence of synthetic peptides used in multiple antigenic peptide constructs for immunization and dental caries protection experiments (Smith et al., 1993a, 1994b, 1997b, 1999; Taubman et al., 1995, 2000, 2001). Amino acid residues putatively associated with catalytic functions are underlined and in bold. Di-epitopic peptide constructs containing two copies of each peptide are indicated by the respective line links. The boundaries of the putative (ß,)8 barrel element are indicated by a bracket. The SAWNSDSEKPFDDHL sequence has been shown to inhibit GTF activity (Dertzbaugh and Macrina, 1990).