Caries Activity and Prevalence of Streptococcus mutans in Mice Caged Together with Caries-Active Hamsters

Abstract

Twelve male mice, 3 weeks old, were caged together with caries-active hamsters and the twin brothers of the mice served as controls. The hamsters harboured Streptococcus mutans and Streptococcus salivarius in their mouths, while neither of these streptococcal species could be recovered from the mice at the beginning of the experiment. At the end of the experiment after nine weeks Strep. mutans could be isolated in a high number from the mouth of six mice reared in the company of hamsters. Five of these mice had a moderate caries activity (2–19 lesions) while one was caries-free. Of the six mice from which Strep. mutans was not recovered, one mouse had five caries lesions while the other five animals were caries-free. In the 12 control mice Strep. mutans could not be isolated and only one animal had one caries lesion. This experiment demonstrates the transfer of Strep. mutans from hamster to mouse and a possible relation between the presence of Strep, mutans and caries activity in the mouse.

A Mouse Caries Model and Evaluation of <i>Aqp5–/–</i> Knockout Mice

“…This early age for inoculation was chosen for three reasons: (1) initial studies of caries development in mice reported limited success [Hamada et al, 1978;Kamp et al, 1983;Navia, 1977;Sharawy and Socransky, 1967;Stralfors et al, 1970]; (2) caries susceptibility decreases with age in weaned mice [Kamp et al, 1981], and (3) in rats, susceptibility is highest when infection is initiated in the early stages of teeth eruption [Larson and Fitzgerald, 1964]. As shown in table 1 , substantial total smooth surface and sulcal surface caries scores were obtained.…”

“…As an initial step in the in vivo evaluation of specifi c host factors (e.g., components of saliva) in the induction of caries by S. mutans , we established protocols to induce caries in mice, a model system seldom used in caries research. Compared to rats, the molars of mice are much smaller and historically are considered more intractable to caries induction [Hamada et al, 1978;Sharawy and Socransky, 1967;Stralfors et al, 1970], especially smooth surface caries [Kamp et al, 1983;Navia, 1977]. To induce and score caries in mice, we made a minor modifi cation in our standard protocol for rats.…”

Caries Susceptibility in Inbred Mouse Strains and Inheritance Patterns in F1and Backcross (N2) Progeny from Strains with High and Low Caries Susceptibility

“…However they could not induce caries lesions in the study. After that, Stralfors et al [1970] succeeded in inducing caries in mice by transfer of S. mutans from hamsters, but caries reproducibility was poor. Navia and Hunt [1972] and Ooshima et al [1981] also induced caries independently in PBB mice and ICR mice, respectively, after an inoculation with S. mutans.…”

Susceptibility of Rats, Hamsters, and Mice to Carious Infection by Streptococcus mutans Serotype c and d Organisms

“…1. Twenty-five rats, 24 hamsters, and 24 mice were marked individually and distributed at random into three groups. Group I served as the non-infected control, and groups II and III were infected with strain MT7102R and MT7038R, respectively.…”