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Infection and Immunity, May 2004, p. 2703-2709, Vol. 72, No. 5
0019-9567/04/$08.00+0     DOI: 10.1128/IAI.72.5.2703-2709.2004
Copyright © 2004, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.

Dialysis Unmasks the Fungicidal Properties of Glandular Salivary Secretions

Eva J. Helmerhorst,1* Bianca Flora,1,2 Robert F. Troxler,1,3 and Frank G. Oppenheim1,3

Department of Periodontology and Oral Biology, Boston University Goldman School of Dental Medicine,1 Department of Biochemistry, Boston University School of Medicine, Boston, Massachusetts 02118,3 Department of Periodontology, Nova Southeastern University, Ft. Lauderdale, Florida 333282

Received 2 September 2003/ Returned for modification 14 October 2003/ Accepted 6 February 2004

Several salivary proteins exhibit fungicidal activity against the opportunistic oral pathogen Candida albicans when they are tested as pure proteins in vitro. However, salivary secretions that are examined by the same assays either lack or exhibit very low candidacidal activity. Since ionic strength is known to have an inhibitory effect on the fungicidal activities of some proteins, parotid secretion was subjected to dialysis with membranes having molecular weight cutoffs (MWCOs) of 500, 1,000, 10,000, and 25,000. Dialysis with membranes with MWCOs of >=1,000 promoted fungicidal activity of parotid secretion, and this activity was dose dependent. The addition of sodium chloride to dialyzed, fungicidal parotid secretion abolished this activity, indicating that the fungicidal component was salt sensitive. Similar results were obtained with submandibular and sublingual secretions. Polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis under native and denaturing conditions was used to analyze the composition of the dialysate. Unexpectedly, proteins with MWs much lower than the nominal MWCOs of the membranes were not lost during dialysis. Among the retained proteins, the two fractions with MWs of approximately 17,000 and 4,000 exhibited fungicidal activity. These results are consistent with the presence of lysozyme and histatins, respectively, which may represent the major candidacidal capacity of dialyzed parotid secretion.

* Corresponding author. Mailing address: Department of Periodontology and Oral Biology, Boston University Goldman School of Dental Medicine, 700 Albany St., W201, Boston, MA 02118-2392. Phone: (617) 414-1119. Fax: (617) 638-4924. E-mail: helmer{at}bu.edu.

Editor: T. R. Kozel

Infection and Immunity, May 2004, p. 2703-2709, Vol. 72, No. 5
0019-9567/04/$08.00+0     DOI: 10.1128/IAI.72.5.2703-2709.2004
Copyright © 2004, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.



This article has been cited by other articles:

  • Wei, G.-X., Bobek, L. A. (2005). Human Salivary Mucin MUC7 12-Mer-L and 12-Mer-D Peptides: Antifungal Activity in Saliva, Enhancement of Activity with Protease Inhibitor Cocktail or EDTA, and Cytotoxicity to Human Cells. Antimicrob. Agents Chemother. 49: 2336-2342 [Abstract] [Full Text]  


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