HOME HELP FEEDBACK SUBSCRIPTIONS ARCHIVE SEARCH TABLE OF CONTENTS		QUICK SEARCH:   [advanced] Author: Keyword(s): Year:  Vol:  Page:

This Article Figures Only Full Text Full Text (PDF) Services Similar articles in this journal Similar articles in ISI Web of Science Similar articles in PubMed Alert me to new issues of the journal Download to citation manager Citing Articles Citing Articles via HighWire Citing Articles via ISI Web of Science (17) Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Articles by Childers, N.K. Articles by Michalek, S.M. Search for Related Content PubMed PubMed Citation Articles by Childers, N.K. Articles by Michalek, S.M.

Humans Immunized with Streptococcus mutans Antigens by Mucosal Routes

¹ Department of Pediatric Dentistry and
² Oral Biology, School of Dentistry, Room 308, 1530 3rd Ave. South, University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, AL, USA 35294-0007;
³ Department of Biostatistics, School of Public Health, University of Alabama at Birmingham; and
⁴ Department of Microbiology, University of Alabama at Birmingham;

*corresponding author, nkc{at}uab.edu

Strategies aimed at the prevention of Streptococcus mutans infection and dental caries include mucosal immunization, which results in salivary anti-S. mutans responses. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of nasal vs. tonsillar immunization with S. mutans antigens in inducing salivary immune responses. Twenty-one adult subjects were immunized twice, within a seven-day interval, with a glucosyltransferase-enriched preparation (E-GTF) administered by nasal or tonsillar topical spray. Parotid saliva, nasal wash, and serum were collected prior to and at one- to two-week intervals for 3 months following immunization and were assayed by ELISA for anti-E-GTF activity. Results were analyzed by means of the mixed-models procedure with p < 0.05 level of significance. Significantly higher anti-E-GTF responses were detected in saliva and nasal wash samples from the group immunized by the nasal compared with the tonsillar route, indicating that nasal immunization was more effective in inducing mucosal responses in adults.

KEY WORDS: mucosal immunity • immunization • caries • liposomes • Streptococcus mutans

This article has been cited by other articles:

				F.X. Lu and R.S. Jacobson Oral Mucosal Immunity and HIV/SIV Infection J. Dent. Res., March 1, 2007; 86(3): 216 - 226. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				A. Carapelli, M. Regoli, C. Nicoletti, L. Ermini, L. Fonzi, and E. Bertelli Rabbit Tonsil-associated M-cells Express Cytokeratin 20 and Take Up Particulate Antigen J. Histochem. Cytochem., October 1, 2004; 52(10): 1323 - 1332. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]