This is a description of the role of Streptococcus sanguis in the oral flora of patients with Behcet's disease (BD) in contrast to the flora of healthy controls. The proportion of S. sanguis in the flora of patients with BD was always higher than that of healthy and disease controls. The types of S. sanguis in the oral flora of the BD patients were uncommon ones. Agglutinating antibody titers against isolated strains of S. sanguis were higher in BD patients than in controls. When S. sanguis antigens were used in skin reaction, the erythema of skin in BD patients was greater than that in healthy controls. It is proposed that uncommon serotypes of S. sanguis may play a role in the pathogenesis of BD.
Two specific strains of Str. sanguis were isolated from tooth plaques in 61.7% of the patients with MCLS and their mothers, while the incidence among 744 controls was 1.9%. Serum indirect hemagglutination inhibition test, assayed by using sensitized sheep RBC with superficial antigen of the strains, showed a maximal increase in titers at 2 to 3 weeks of the disease course, followed by a gradual decrease. Injections of these strains, the filtrate and the purified component of the bacterial culture broth each caused various inflammatory changes compatible with MCLS in the experimental animals. No other strains of Str. sanguis produced the same changes. These findings suggest that some specific strains of Str. sanguis may be involved in the etiology of MCLS.
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