Role of sortase in Streptococcus mutans under the effect of nicotine

Abstract

Nicotine increases the bacterium Streptococcus mutans’ cavity-causing ability by interacting with the enzyme sortase A, Richard Gregory of the Indiana University School of Dentistry, USA, and colleagues have shown. Sortase A modifies surface proteins in S. mutans. Scientists knew that nicotine increases cavity formation, but not how. Gregory and colleagues focused on the role played by sortase A because it controls the secretion and anchoring of the bacterium’s virulence proteins. Using S. mutans’ cultures of wild-type or sortase-deficient strains, the researchers investigated the effect of nicotine on biofilm formation ­— difficult-to-remove bacterial aggregates that trigger cavity formation. As they increased nicotine levels in the cultures, the researchers found that the wild-type strains produced significantly more biofilm than the sortase-deficient strains. These results indicate that sortase A plays a key role in nicotine-induced cavity formation.

Keywords

dental caries / metabolism / nicotine / sortase A / Streptococcus mutans

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