Corynebacterium matruchotii Demography and Adhesion Determinants in the Oral Cavity of Healthy Individuals

Abstract

Corynebacterium matruchotii may be key in tooth biofilm formation, but information about demographics, bacterial partners, and binding ligands is limited. The aims of this study were to explore C. matruchotii’s demography by age and colonization site (plaque and saliva), in vitro bacterial–bacterial interactions in coaggregation and coadhesion assays, and glycolipids as potential binding ligands in thin-layer chromatogram binding assays. C. matruchotii prevalence increased from 3 months to 18 years old, with 90% and 100% prevalence in saliva and tooth biofilm, respectively. C. matruchotii aggregated in saliva in a dose-dependent manner but lacked the ability to bind to saliva-coated hydroxyapatite. In vivo, C. matruchotii abundance paralleled that of Actinomyces naeslundii, Capnocytophaga sp. HMT 326, Fusobacterium nucleatum subsp. polymorphum, and Tannerella sp. HMT 286. In vitro, C. matruchotii bound both planktonic and surface-bound A. naeslundii, Actinomyces odontolyticus, and F. nucleatum. In addition, C. matruchotii exhibited the ability to bind glycolipids isolated from human erythrocytes (blood group O), human granulocytes, rabbit intestine, human meconium, and rat intestine. Binding assays identified candidate carbohydrate ligands as isoglobotriaosylceramide, Galα3-isoglobotriaosylceramide, lactotriaosylceramide, lactotetraosylceramide, neolactotetraosylceramide, and neolactohexaosylceramide. Thus, C. matruchotii likely uses specific plaque bacteria to adhere to the biofilm and may interact with human tissues through carbohydrate interactions.

Dysbiosis From a Microbial and Host Perspective Relative to Oral Health and Disease

“…Immediately after tooth brushing a succession of events occur on a tooth surface (Socransky and Manganiello, 1971 ). Pioneer colonizers, consisting mostly of Gram-positive bacteria, collect on the enamel surface in parallel arrays extending from the tooth surface (Kolenbrander, 2000 ; Kolenbrander et al, 2002 , 2006 ; Li et al, 2004 ; Hojo et al, 2009 ; Esberg et al, 2020 ). These pioneers are succeeded by secondary and tertiary species all of which are commensal members of the oral microbiota (“normal” inhabitants of the oral cavity).…”

Corynebacterium matruchotii fitness enhancement of adjacent streptococci by multiple mechanisms

“…It has been correlated with good dental health and hypothesized to be important in the organization of some plaque biofilm structures particularly due to its ability to adhere to Streptococcus species forming a structure referred to as a “corncob” with the Corynebacterium filament being surrounded by streptococci (Mark Welch et al, 2016), a role typically ascribed to Fusobacterium (Foster and Kolenbrander, 2004; Kolenbrander et al, 2006). Also, C. matruchotii has shown in vitro to be able to co-aggregate with Actinomyces species which are known to be early colonizers during the plaque biofilm formation (Esberg et al, 2020). It’s been hypothesized that C. matruchotii binds to an existing biofilm of Streptococcus and Actinomyces cells for attachment and anchoring to the plaque (Esberg et al, 2020; Mark Welch et al, 2016).…”

“…Also, C. matruchotii has shown in vitro to be able to co-aggregate with Actinomyces species which are known to be early colonizers during the plaque biofilm formation (Esberg et al, 2020). It’s been hypothesized that C. matruchotii binds to an existing biofilm of Streptococcus and Actinomyces cells for attachment and anchoring to the plaque (Esberg et al, 2020; Mark Welch et al, 2016). The spatial organization of microbes in SUPP has been characterized in the ‘hedgehog’ model (Mark Welch et al, 2016) which visualizes C. matruchotii and its proximity to adjacent Streptococcus species, such as S. mitis at the SUPP perimeter (Mark Welch et al, 2016; Morillo-lopez et al, 2021).…”

Differential Response of Oral Mucosal and Gingival Cells to Corynebacterium durum, Streptococcus sanguinis, and Porphyromonas gingivalis Multispecies Biofilms

“…While the ecological roles of oral streptococci have been investigated in great detail ( Kreth et al., 2017 ; Abranches et al., 2018 ), little is known about oral corynebacteria. However, clinical studies indicate they likely play significant roles in the development of the dental biofilm ( Ferrer and Mira, 2016 ; Esberg et al., 2020 ; Diaz and Valm, 2020 ). The role of P. gingivalis in periodontal disease is well documented ( How, Song, and Chan 2016 ; Mulhall, Huck, and Amar 2020 ).…”