Center of Stomatology, Tongji Hospital, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, No. 1095, Jiefang Avenue, Wuhan, 430030, People's Republic of China.
Curr Microbiol. 2014 Jan;68(1):47-52. doi: 10.1007/s00284-013-0439-x. Epub 2013 Aug 28.
Streptococcus mutans (S. mutans) is the main etiological agent of dental caries, and adheres to the tooth surface through the sortase A (SrtA)-mediated cell wall-anchored protein Pac. Inhibition of SrtA activity results in a marked reduction in the adhesion potential of S. mutans, and the frequency of dental caries. Morin is a natural plant extract that was previously reported to inhibit Staphylococcus aureus SrtA activity. Here, we demonstrate that morin has an inhibitory effect against S. mutans UA159 SrtA, with an IC50 of 27.2 ± 2.6 μM. Western blotting demonstrated that 30 μM morin induced the partial release of the Pac protein into the supernatant. The biofilm mass of S. mutans was reduced in the presence of 30 μM morin, which was not caused by a decrease in S. mutans viability. These results indicate that morin might be important as a new agent to prevent caries.
变形链球菌（S. mutans）是龋齿的主要病因，通过 sortase A（SrtA）介导的细胞壁锚定蛋白 Pac 附着在牙齿表面。抑制 SrtA 活性会显著降低 S. mutans 的黏附能力，从而降低龋齿的发生率。桑色素是一种天然植物提取物，先前有报道称其可抑制金黄色葡萄球菌 SrtA 活性。在这里，我们证明桑色素对 S. mutans UA159 SrtA 具有抑制作用，IC50 为 27.2±2.6 μM。Western blot 实验表明，30 μM 桑色素诱导 Pac 蛋白部分释放到上清液中。在 30 μM 桑色素存在的情况下，S. mutans 的生物膜质量减少，这不是由 S. mutans 活力下降引起的。这些结果表明，桑色素可能是预防龋齿的一种重要的新型药物。
