Lee Young-Eun, Choi Youn-Hee, Jeong Seong-Hwa, Kim Hee-Sook, Lee Sung-Hee, Song Keun-Bae
Department of Preventive Dentistry, School of Dentistry, Kyungpook National University, Samduk-Dong, Daegu 700-412, Republic of Korea.
Curr Microbiol. 2009 Apr;58(4):332-7. doi: 10.1007/s00284-008-9332-4. Epub 2008 Dec 16.
Few studies have been conducted to evaluate the effect of xylitol on the virulence and morphology of Streptococcus mutans (S. mutans). This study was conducted to evaluate changes in the morphology and virulence of S. mutans in response to long-term consumption of gum containing xylitol. Participants were voluntarily recruited for a women's oral health prevention program, classified into two groups (a control and a xylitol group), and then followed for 1 year. Ten salivary samples were randomly selected from each group. Colony count, field emission scanning electron microscopy, and real-time reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction were used to analyze the characteristics of S. mutans. In the xylitol group, the colony counts of S. mutans decreased steadily over time. In addition, the adherence of the colonies in the xylitol group became weak, and the size of the colonies decreased compared to the control. The secretion of sticky substances from the surface of S. mutans colonies and gtfB gene expression also decreased in the xylitol group. These findings indicate that regular chewing of xylitol gum over a long period may lead to decreased gtfB expression, which can negatively affect the synthesis of extracellular polysaccharides by S. mutans, which could reduce the size and growth of S. mutans colonies and change their morphology as a result.
很少有研究评估木糖醇对变形链球菌（S. mutans）毒力和形态的影响。本研究旨在评估长期食用含木糖醇口香糖后变形链球菌形态和毒力的变化。参与者自愿参加一项女性口腔健康预防计划，分为两组（对照组和木糖醇组），然后随访1年。每组随机抽取10份唾液样本。采用菌落计数、场发射扫描电子显微镜和实时逆转录聚合酶链反应分析变形链球菌的特征。在木糖醇组中，变形链球菌的菌落计数随时间稳步下降。此外，木糖醇组菌落的黏附性变弱，与对照组相比菌落尺寸减小。木糖醇组中变形链球菌菌落表面粘性物质的分泌以及gtfB基因表达也降低。这些发现表明，长期定期咀嚼木糖醇口香糖可能导致gtfB表达降低，这可能对变形链球菌细胞外多糖的合成产生负面影响，从而可能减少变形链球菌菌落的大小和生长，并改变其形态。
