Goodbye, caries?
The vaccine against caries has passed preclinical testsKirill Stasevich, Compulenta
Researchers from the Institute of Virology in Wuhan (China) report that they have managed to create an effective vaccine against caries, made up of DNA and protein from two different bacteria, which has performed well in preclinical trials.
It is known that the cause of caries is bacteria. They colonize the oral cavity and in the process of vital activity secrete substances that destroy tooth enamel. Usually pathogenic microorganisms meet with an immune response from our side, and the activity of immunity is not limited exclusively to blood: for example, protective antibodies are also present in saliva. At some point, scientists came up with the idea that immunity can be trained against caries (just as we train it against common infections) with vaccination.
A DNA vaccine was chosen to combat caries bacteria. Its essence is that it is not the protein of a pathogenic microorganism that is injected into the body, but its DNA. This DNA penetrates into cells, is transported to the nucleus and serves as a matrix for the synthesis of bacterial or viral protein. The latter is exposed on the outer membrane, where immune cells can see it and "warm up" on it, so that when a real pathogenic microorganism appears, the immune system is ready to meet.
Such vaccines are considered cheaper and "long-lasting", but, alas, they do not always demonstrate high immunogenicity. Roughly speaking, the immune system does not "learn" too diligently from the DNA vaccine, responds poorly to the appearance of a pathogen, etc.
But the researchers helped the immune system by introducing a protein of flagella bacteria from the genus of salmonella into the vaccine. The vaccine itself contained a DNA fragment of Streptococcus mutans, one of the main types of bacteria to which we owe caries. DNA from streptococcus and protein from salmonella were injected through the nose to laboratory rodents, after which the level of immunoglobulins G in blood serum and secretory immunoglobulins A in saliva were checked in animals.
In an article published in the Journal of Dental Research (Shi et al., Flagellin Enhances Saliva IgA Response and Protection of Anti-caries DNA Vaccine), the authors write that the level of immune proteins in both blood and saliva increased, but, more importantly, the growth of Streptococcus mutans colonies was inhibited on the tooth enamel. The teeth of vaccinated animals were better protected from caries. The key to success, the researchers believe, is the dual nature of the vaccine: a protein from one bacterium stimulated the immune system to react more sharply to the protein of another bacterium recorded in DNA. The convenience and simplicity of the vaccine can make it extremely popular — if, of course, the success of animal trials is confirmed in clinical studies.
Prepared based on the materials of the International and American Dental Research Associations: IADR/AADR Publish Study on Dental Caries Vaccine.
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30.11.2011