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Infection and Immunity, September 1998, p. 4283-4289, Vol. 66, No. 9
Departments of Microbiology and
Immunology1 and
Pediatrics,2 Georgetown University
Medical Center, Washington, D.C. 20007, and
Department of Oral
Biology, University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, Manitoba R3E OW2,
Canada3
Received 25 February 1998/Returned for modification 16 April
1998/Accepted 26 June 1998
The secretory immune response in saliva to colonization by
Actinomyces naeslundii genospecies 1 and 2 was studied in
10 human infants from birth to 2 years of age. Actinomyces
species were not recovered from the mouths of the infants until
approximately 4 months after the eruption of teeth. However, low levels
of secretory immunoglobulin A1 (SIgA1) and SIgA2 antibodies reactive
with whole cells of A. naeslundii genospecies 1 and 2 were
detected within the first month after birth. Although there was a
fivefold increase in the concentration of SIgA between birth and age 2 years, there were no differences between the concentrations of SIgA1
and SIgA2 antibodies reactive with A. naeslundii
genospecies 1 and 2 over this period. When the concentrations of SIgA1
and SIgA2 antibodies reactive with whole cells of A. naeslundii genospecies 1 and 2 were normalized to the
concentrations of SIgA1 and SIgA2 in saliva, the A. naeslundii genospecies 1- and 2-reactive SIgA1 and SIgA2 antibodies showed a significant decrease from birth to 2 years of
age. The fine specificities of A. naeslundii
genospecies 1- and 2-reactive SIgA1 and SIgA2 antibodies were
examined by Western blotting of envelope proteins. Similarities in the
molecular masses of proteins recognized by SIgA1 and SIgA2 antibodies,
both within and between subjects over time, were examined
by cluster analysis and showed considerable variability. Taken
overall, our data suggest that among the mechanisms
Actinomyces species employ to persist in the oral cavity
are the induction of a limited immune response and clonal replacement
with strains differing in their antigen profiles.
0019-9567/98/$04.00+0
Copyright © 1998, American Society for Microbiology. All rights reserved.
Humoral Immunity to Commensal Oral Bacteria in Human Infants:
Salivary Antibodies Reactive with Actinomyces naeslundii
Genospecies 1 and 2 during Colonization
*
Corresponding author. Mailing address: Rm. S.E. 308A,
Med Dent Bldg., 3900 Reservoir Rd., N.W., Washington, DC 20007. Phone: (202) 687-1817. Fax: (202) 687-4973. E-mail:
colem{at}gunet.georgetown.edu.
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