Centre for Oral Health Research, School of Dental Sciences, Newcastle University, Framlington Place, Newcastle upon Tyne NE2 4BW, United Kingdom.
J Mol Biol. 2015 Nov 20;427(23):3662-75. doi: 10.1016/j.jmb.2015.09.022. Epub 2015 Oct 28.
The oral cavity is accessible to microorganisms, and biofilms are present throughout on hard and soft tissues. The shedding of epithelial cell layers is usually effective for controlling biofilm development on soft tissues. Innate immune mechanisms are not so effective against biofilms on tooth surfaces, and oral hygiene measures such as brushing and flossing are required for the periodic removal of dental plaque. Even with good oral hygiene, microbial communities accumulate on teeth in areas that are protected from mechanical abrasion forces. Changes in the composition of these biofilms are associated with oral diseases such as dental caries or periodontitis. Newly formed biofilms and more mature dental plaque each have a level of spatial organization in the horizontal and vertical planes. Communities are shaped by many varied interactions between different species and genera within the biofilm, which include physical cell-cell associations known as coaggregation, interspecies signaling, secretion and turnover of antimicrobial compounds and the sharing of an extracellular matrix. Central to these interactions is the selection for metabolic synergies and it is becoming clear that the ability of communities to extract the maximum energy from the available metabolites is a potent driver for biofilm structure and stratification. This review discusses recent advances in our understanding of intermicrobial interactions in oral biofilms and the roles that they play in determining the spatial organization of biofilm communities.
口腔内有微生物存在，生物膜存在于硬组织和软组织的各个部位。上皮细胞层的脱落通常可以有效控制软组织上生物膜的发展。先天免疫机制对牙齿表面的生物膜作用不大，需要刷牙和使用牙线等口腔卫生措施来定期清除牙菌斑。即使保持良好的口腔卫生，微生物群落也会在牙齿的某些受机械磨损力保护的区域积累。这些生物膜的组成变化与龋齿或牙周炎等口腔疾病有关。新形成的生物膜和更成熟的牙菌斑在水平和垂直平面上都有一定的空间组织。群落由生物膜内不同物种和属之间的多种相互作用形成，包括被称为共聚的物理细胞-细胞相互作用、种间信号传递、抗菌化合物的分泌和周转以及细胞外基质的共享。这些相互作用的核心是对代谢协同作用的选择，很明显，群落从可用代谢物中提取最大能量的能力是生物膜结构和分层的有力驱动因素。本文综述了我们对口腔生物膜中微生物间相互作用的理解的最新进展，以及它们在决定生物膜群落的空间组织中所起的作用。
