The oxidant scavenging capacity of the oral Mycoplasma salivarium.

OBJECTIVE

Mycoplasma salivarium is a human oral potential pathogen that preferentially resides in dental plaques and gingival sulci. It has been suggested that this organism may play an etiological role in inflammatory processes in the oral cavity. The aim of this work was to determine whether M. salivarium possesses a potent oxidant scavenging capacity (OSC).

DESIGN

The OSC of M. salivarium was quantified by a highly sensitive luminal-dependent chemiluminescence assay in the presence of cocktails that induced a constant flux of luminescence resulting from the generation of peroxide, hydroxyl radical (cocktail A) and NO, superoxide and peroxynitrites (cocktail B).

RESULTS

M. salivarium markedly reduced oxidative stress by scavenging both free reactive oxygen and nitrogen species. The OSC of M. salivarium was much higher than that of other Mycoplasma species. Most of M. salivarium OSC was confined to the cytosolic fraction and was markedly increased in the presence of tannic acid, red blood cells or mucin. The cytosolic OSC of M. salivarium was heat stable and not affected by sodium azide or prolonged proteolysis. However, it was markedly decreased upon dialysis, suggesting that the major reducing activity is not enzymatic but rather, a low molecular weight compound(s).

CONCLUSIONS

The ability of M. salivarium to scavenge oxidants may play a role in the survival and pathogenicity of this microorganism. The enhanced OSC of M. salivarium in the presence of tannic acid, red blood cells or mucin might have a significant importance to assess complex interactions with polyphenols from nutrients, salivary proteins and red blood cells extravasated from injured capillaries during infection and inflammation in oral tissues.