The Oral Microbiome and Salivary Proteins Influence Caries in Children aged 6 to 8 years

Abstract

Background Oral microbiome and salivary proteins play a critical role in the occurrence and development of caries. In this study, we used metagenomic and metaproteomic analyses to explore the microbiological and proteinic biomarkers and investigate the etiology of caries in 6-8 year old children. Our study aims to offer a better comprehension of these factors and the relationship with caries, and these findings might facilitate caries risk assessment and provide a basis for future prevention strategies. Methods Children six to eight years old living in rural isolated areas including 40 caries-active subjects and 40 caries-free subjects were recruited. Supragingival plaque and unstimulated saliva were collected for 16S rDNA pyrosequencing and isobaric tags for relative and absolute quantitation (iTRAQ) technique coupled with quantitative nano-flow liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry(LC-MS/MS), respectively. Results We found 6 phyla and 13 genera predominant in all the samples, and differences in relative abundances can be observed. The Alpha diversity analysis demonstrated that the richness and diversity of the bacterial communities were similar between children with caries-free and caries-active groups; LEfSe detected differences in the bacterial community including Dialister, Selenomonas, Actinomyces, and Mogibacterium in the caries-active group (P<0.05) and Capnocytophaga, Fusobacterium, Desulfuromonadales, Haemophilus, and Porphyromonas in the caries-free group(P<0.05). The core microbiome was defined as 18 predominant genera in preschool children with caries. The results of the salivary proteome identified 9135 unique peptides and 1662 proteins group from 20 salivary samples. Two hundred fifty-eight proteins were differentially expressed between the caries-free and caries-active groups. Conclusions The diversity of the microbial community has little effect on caries but some bacteria with different relative abundance between the caries-active and caries-free group could be considered as potential biomarkers for children with caries.In addition, as a critical host factor of caries, the salivary proteins are different in caries-free and caries-active groups.

Baicalein Inhibits Streptococcus mutans Biofilms and Dental Caries-Related Virulence Phenotypes

“…Although caries is a polymicrobial disease, S. mutans is considered as the primary driver for the initiation and progression of caries [ 3 , 9 ]. There has been considerable argument on what the disease-drivers and commensal-keepers in caries are, with various groups demonstrating different microbiome profiles in caries in an age-dependent manner [ 10 , 11 , 12 ]. That said, the concept of “keystone pathogen” is probably only relevant if the designed strategies are microbicidal in nature.…”

The predictive power of saliva electrolytes exceeds that of saliva microbiomes in diagnosing early childhood caries

“…The performance improvement was maximized by employing the top-32 most discriminatory genera, many of which (e.g. Atopobium, Prevotella, Mogibacterium, and Neisseria) have been reported to be associated with dental caries (Figure 5B) [46][47][48][49]. Intriguingly, as compared with the oral-microbiota-based classifier, the ECC classifier performed better based on the biochemical indices, including 12 salivary electrolytes, pH, and total protein (AUROC = 0.94, 95% CI: 91.50%-96.91%, accuracy = 0.89; Figure 5C).…”