Evaluation of the collagen-binding properties and virulence of killed Streptococcus mutans in a silkworm model

Cold-stored mulberry leaves affect antioxidant system and silk proteins of silkworm (Bombyx mori) larva

BACKGROUND

Cold storage has been widely used to maintain the quality of vegetables, but whether eating cold-stored vegetables affects health remains unknown.

RESULTS

This study used silkworms as an animal model to evaluate the effects of nutrient changes in cold-stored mulberry leaves (CSML) on health. Compared with fresh mulberry leaves (FML), CSML contained lower vitamin C, soluble sugars and proteins, and higher H2 O2 , suggesting decreased antioxidant ability and nutrition. The CSML did not obviously affect larval survival rate, body weight or dry matter rate, cocoon shape, weight and size, or final rates of cluster and cocooning relative to the FML, suggesting CSML did not alter overall growth and development. However, the CSML increased the initial rates of cluster and cocooning and upregulated BmRpd3, suggesting CSML shortened larval lifespan and enhanced senescence. CSML upregulated BmNOX4, downregulated BmCAT, BmSOD and BmGSH-Px and increased H2 O2 in silkworms, suggesting CSML caused oxidative stress. CSML upregulated ecdysone biosynthesis and inactivation genes and elevated ecdysone concentration in silkworms, suggesting that CSML affected hormone homeostasis. CSML upregulated apoptosis-related genes, downregulated sericin and silk fibroin genes and decreased sericin content rate in silkworms, suggesting oxidative stress and protein deficiency.

CONCLUSION

Cold storage reduced nutrition and antioxidant capability of mulberry leaves. CSML did not influence growth and development of silkworm larva, but affected health by causing oxidative stress and reducing protein synthesis. The findings show that the ingredient changes in CSML had negative effects on health of silkworms. © 2023 Society of Chemical Industry.

Alternatives to animal models to study bacterial infections

Animal testing has made a significant and unequalled contribution to important discoveries and advancements in the fields of research, medicine, vaccine development, and drug discovery. Each year, millions of animals are sacrificed for various experiments, and this is an ongoing process. However, the debate on the ethical and sensible usage of animals in in vivo experimentation is equally important. The need to explore and adopt newer alternatives to animals so as to comply with the goal of reduce, refine, and replace needs attention. Besides the ever-increasing debate on ethical issues, animal research has additional drawbacks (need of trained labour, requirement of breeding area, lengthy protocols, high expenses, transport barriers, difficulty to extrapolate data from animals to humans, etc.). With this scenario, the present review has been framed to give a comprehensive insight into the possible alternative options worth exploring in this direction especially targeting replacements for animal models of bacterial infections. There have been some excellent reviews discussing on the alternate methods for replacing and reducing animals in drug research. However, reviews that discuss the replacements in the field of medical bacteriology with emphasis on animal bacterial infection models are purely limited. The present review discusses on the use of (a) non-mammalian models and (b) alternative systems such as microfluidic chip-based models and microdosing aiming to give a detailed insight into the prospects of these alternative platforms to reduce the number of animals being used in infection studies. This would enlighten the scientific community working in this direction to be well acquainted with the available new approaches and alternatives so that the 3R strategy can be successfully implemented in the field of antibacterial drug research and testing.

Inhibitory Effect of Adsorption of Streptococcus mutans onto Scallop-Derived Hydroxyapatite

Hydroxyapatite adsorbs various substances, but little is known about the effects on oral bacteria of adsorption onto hydroxyapatite derived from scallop shells. In the present study, we analyzed the effects of adsorption of Streptococcus mutans onto scallop-derived hydroxyapatite. When scallop-derived hydroxyapatite was mixed with S. mutans, a high proportion of the bacterial cells adsorbed onto the hydroxyapatite in a time-dependent manner. An RNA sequencing analysis of S. mutans adsorbed onto hydroxyapatite showed that the upregulation of genes resulted in abnormalities in pathways involved in glycogen and histidine metabolism and biosynthesis compared with cells in the absence of hydroxyapatite. S. mutans adsorbed onto hydroxyapatite was not killed, but the growth of the bacteria was inhibited. Electron microscopy showed morphological changes in S. mutans cells adsorbed onto hydroxyapatite. Our results suggest that hydroxyapatite derived from scallop shells showed a high adsorption ability for S. mutans. This hydroxyapatite also caused changes in gene expression related to the metabolic and biosynthetic processes, including the glycogen and histidine of S. mutans, which may result in a morphological change in the surface layer and the inhibition of the growth of the bacteria.

Clinical characteristics of children and guardians possessing CBP-positive Streptococcus mutans strains: a cross-sectional study

Streptococcus mutans is a major etiological agent for dental caries. We previously demonstrated that S. mutans strains expressing collagen-binding proteins (CBPs) were related to the pathogenesis of systemic diseases. However, their acquisition and colonization remain unknown. Here, we investigated the detection rates of CBP-positive S. mutans strains in children and their guardians to clarify the background for the acquisition and colonization in children. Saliva samples were collected from children and their mothers, and detection of S. mutans and collagen-binding genes (cnm, cbm) was performed by PCR after DNA extraction. The oral status of each child was examined, and their mothers were asked to complete a questionnaire. The isolation rate of Cnm-positive S. mutans was significantly higher in mothers than in children. Notably, the possession rates of CBP-positive strains in children were significantly higher in children whose mothers had CBP-positive strains than in children whose mothers did not have these strains. Furthermore, children with CBP-positive strains had a significantly shorter breastfeeding period than children without these strains. The present results suggest that nutritional feeding habits in infancy are one of the factors involved in the acquisition and colonization of CBP-positive S. mutans strains.