Glycan in Dental Disease

Glycans are one of the most important components of cells and may also be the most abundant and diverse of nature’s biopolymers, which are associated with a variety of key biological processes. Therefore, an increasing number of diseases of glycosylation are being discovered, it is critical to detect and identify these glycans during disease diagnosis and treatment. At present, Creative Biolabs provides excellent services for the construction and screening of immune antibodies against glycans by our advanced technology. Our professional scientists can generate antibody libraries from diverse species, including general laboratory animals, and some infrequent antibody sources such as human, camel, shark, bovine, alligator, and so on.

Dental Disease

Periodontal disease is a typical dental disease, also referred to as gum disease, which is a set of inflammatory conditions affecting the tissues surrounding the teeth. In the early period, it is called gingivitis and the gums become swollen, red, and may bleed. In its more deteriorated condition, called periodontitis, the gums can pull away from the tooth, bone can be lost, and the teeth may loosen or fall out. Periodontal disease is usually due to bacteria in the mouth invading the tissue around the teeth. Some risk factors include smoking, diabetes, HIV/AIDS, family history, and certain medications. Generally, the diagnosis is via inspecting the gum tissue around the teeth both visually and with a probe and X-rays looking for bone loss around the teeth. Treatment often depends on good oral hygiene and regular professional teeth cleaning. In the United States, approximately half of those over the age of 30 are affected to some degree, while about 70% of those over the age of 65 have the disease and males are affected more often than females.

Fig.1 Schematic representation of the periodontal tissues supporting the tooth. (Settem, 2013)

The Role of Glycans in Dental Disease

The oral cavity of host contains abundant microorganism, the niche is colonized with nearly 700 bacterial species with different taxa and phylotypes. Of these diverse bacteria, a select group of gram-negative anaerobes residing in the subgingival crevices as biofilms triggers one of the most common forms of the inflammatory disease in humans, known as periodontitis. A group of bacteria known as the “red complex” comprising Porphyromonas gingivalis, Treponema denticola, and Tannerella forsythia has been strongly involved in the initiation and progression of periodontitis. A recent study found T. forsythia and P. gingivalis bacteria can utilize protein glycosylation for undermining the host immunity to persist in the host and cause periodontal destruction.

Fig.2 Schematic diagram of the O-glycan core structure linked to a peptide motif in Tannerella surface-layer proteins and signaling crosstalk between a C-type lectin-like receptor (CLR) and TLR2 activated by O-glycans and TLR2 ligands, respectively. (Settem, 2013)

Protein modification with complex glycans is increasingly being identified in many pathogenic and non-pathogenic bacteria, which is crucial to the successful life-style of those species in their respective hosts. For example, certain viridans group streptococci in dental caries and gingivitis contain serine-rich bacterial proteins and the stability requires O-glycosylation. They also have a binding region that can recognize O-linked sialoglycans or oral mucins to promote attachment to cells in the mucosa. If these bacteria reach the bloodstream, particularly during dental procedures, the same binding proteins recognize platelet glycoproteins such as GPIb-α, delivering the bacteria to damaged heart valves, and causing the serious disease of bacterial endocarditis. Additional results showed that surface glycans of periodontal bacteria orchestrate dendritic cell cytokine responses to drive T cell immunity that facilitates bacterial persistence in the host and induce periodontal inflammation. In addition, surface glycans may help certain periodontal bacteria protect against serum complement attack or help them avoid immune detection through glycomimicry. Thus, the glycans of pathogen could be potential targets for dental disease treatment.

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Reference:

1. Settem, R. P.; et al. Protein-linked glycans in periodontal bacteria: prevalence and role at the immune interface. Frontiers in Microbiology. 2013, 4.