Skip to main content
PMC home page
Infection and Immunity logoLink to Infection and Immunity
. 1974 Feb;9(2):329–336. doi: 10.1128/iai.9.2.329-336.1974

Collagenolytic Activity of Dental Plaque Associated with Periodontal Pathology

W J Loesche 1, K U Paunio 1, M P Woolfolk 1, R N Hockett 1
PMCID: PMC414805  PMID: 4361294

Abstract

Certain dental plaques, removed from sites of gingival and periodontal pathology in mentally retarded, institutionalized individuals, when incubated in phosphate buffer with Achilles tendon collagen, gave rise to an increase in ninhydrin-positive material. These plaques, while showing great variability, released significantly more ninhydrin-positive material per milligram of plaque (wet weight) than did either the endogenous or heat-treated controls. Certain plaques could also break down soluble, tritiated, labeled collagen isolated from the calvaria of chicken embryos. Bacteroides melaninogenicus and Clostridia histolyticum were found in plaques by either fluorescent antibody or cultural methods. C. histolyticum, when detected, accounted for about 0.01 to 0.1% of the bacteria in plaque. A conspicuous isolate from some plaques was a Bacillus species which rapidly liquefied gelatin. Cell-free supernatants of this organism were able to degrade about 50 to 70% of the soluble collagen when incubated at 36 C. C. histolyticum ATCC 8034 caused an 80% degradation of the collagen under the same conditions of incubation. The Bacillus strains were facultative, could ferment glucose, reduced nitrate to nitrite, and were catalase, indole, and urease negative. The limited taxonomic information for the isolates is compatible with the description given for Bacillus cereus.

Full text

PDF
332

Selected References

These references are in PubMed. This may not be the complete list of references from this article.

  1. Cutress T. W. Periodontal disease and oral hygiene in trisomy 21. Arch Oral Biol. 1971 Nov;16(11):1345–1355. doi: 10.1016/0003-9969(71)90036-7. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  2. Fullmer H. M., Gibson W. A., Lazarus G. S., Bladen H. A., Whedon K. A. The origin of collagenase in periodontal tissues of man. J Dent Res. 1969 Sep-Oct;48(5):646–651. doi: 10.1177/00220345690480050701. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  3. GIBBONS R. J., MACDONALD J. B. Degradation of collagenous substrates by Bacteroides melaninogenicus. J Bacteriol. 1961 Apr;81:614–621. doi: 10.1128/jb.81.4.614-621.1961. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  4. GIBBONS R. J., SOCRANSKY S. S., SAWYER S., KAPSIMALIS B., MACDONALD J. B. The microbiota of the gingival crevice area of man. II. The predominant cultivable organisms. Arch Oral Biol. 1963 May-Jun;8:281–289. doi: 10.1016/0003-9969(63)90020-7. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  5. Grenier E. M., Eveland W. C., Loesche W. J. Identification of Streptococcus mutans serotypes in dental plaque by fluorescent antibody techniques. Arch Oral Biol. 1973 Jun;18(6):707–715. doi: 10.1016/0003-9969(73)90006-x. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  6. Hotz P., Guggenheim B., Schmid R. Carbohydrates in pooled dental plaque. Caries Res. 1972;6(2):103–121. doi: 10.1159/000259783. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  7. LOE H., THEILADE E., JENSEN S. B. EXPERIMENTAL GINGIVITIS IN MAN. J Periodontol. 1965 May-Jun;36:177–187. doi: 10.1902/jop.1965.36.3.177. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  8. LUCAS R. B., THONARD J. C. The action of oral bacteria on collagen. J Dent Res. 1955 Feb;34(1):118–122. doi: 10.1177/00220345550340010501. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  9. Loesche W. J., Gibbons R. J. Amino acid fermentation by Fusobacterium nucleatum. Arch Oral Biol. 1968 Feb;13(2):191–202. doi: 10.1016/0003-9969(68)90051-4. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  10. Loesche W. J., Green E., Kenney E. B., Nafe D. Effect of topical kanamycin sulfate on plaque accumulation. J Am Dent Assoc. 1971 Nov;83(5):1063–1069. doi: 10.14219/jada.archive.1971.0418. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  11. Loesche W. J., Hockett R. N., Syed S. A. The predominant cultivable flora of tooth surface plaque removed from institutionalized subjects. Arch Oral Biol. 1972 Sep;17(9):1311–1325. doi: 10.1016/0003-9969(72)90164-1. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  12. Loesche W. J., Syed S. A. The predominant cultivable flora of carious plaque and carious dentine. Caries Res. 1973;7(3):201–216. doi: 10.1159/000259844. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  13. Löe H. The Gingival Index, the Plaque Index and the Retention Index Systems. J Periodontol. 1967 Nov-Dec;38(6 Suppl):610–616. doi: 10.1902/jop.1967.38.6.610. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  14. MACDONALD J. B., GIBBONS R. J., SOCRANSKY S. S. Bacterial mechanisms in periodontal disease. Ann N Y Acad Sci. 1960 Mar 29;85:467–478. doi: 10.1111/j.1749-6632.1960.tb49975.x. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  15. MACLENNAN J. D., MANDL I., HOWES E. L. Bacterial digestion of collagen. J Clin Invest. 1953 Dec;32(12):1317–1322. doi: 10.1172/JCI102860. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  16. MANDL I., MACLENNAN J. D., HOWES E. L. Isolation and characterization of proteinase and collagenase from Cl. histolyticum. J Clin Invest. 1953 Dec;32(12):1323–1329. doi: 10.1172/JCI102861. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  17. MOODY M. D., ELLIS E. C., UPDYKE E. L. Staining bacterial smears with fluorescent antibody. IV. Grouping streptococci with fluorescent antibody. J Bacteriol. 1958 May;75(5):553–560. doi: 10.1128/jb.75.5.553-560.1958. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  18. MYERS H. I., ROTH G. D. Hide powder and collagen lysis by organisms from the oral cavity. Oral Surg Oral Med Oral Pathol. 1956 Nov;9(11):1172–1184. doi: 10.1016/0030-4220(56)90187-6. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  19. Peterkofsky B., Diegelmann R. Use of a mixture of proteinase-free collagenases for the specific assay of radioactive collagen in the presence of other proteins. Biochemistry. 1971 Mar 16;10(6):988–994. doi: 10.1021/bi00782a009. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  20. SCHULTZ-HAUDT S. D., SCHERP H. W. Lysis of collagen by human gingival bacteria. Proc Soc Exp Biol Med. 1955 Aug;89(4):697–770. doi: 10.3181/00379727-89-21920. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  21. SOCRANSKY S. S., GIBBONS R. J., DALE A. C., BORTNICK L., ROSENTHAL E., MACDONALD J. B. The microbiota of the gingival crevice area of man. I. Total microscopic and viable counts and counts of specific organisms. Arch Oral Biol. 1963 May-Jun;8:275–280. doi: 10.1016/0003-9969(63)90019-0. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  22. Socransky S. S. Relationship of bacteria to the etiology of periodontal disease. J Dent Res. 1970 Mar-Apr;49(2):203–222. doi: 10.1177/00220345700490020401. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  23. Syed S. A., Loesche W. J. Survival of human dental plaque flora in various transport media. Appl Microbiol. 1972 Oct;24(4):638–644. doi: 10.1128/am.24.4.638-644.1972. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]

Articles from Infection and Immunity are provided here courtesy of American Society for Microbiology (ASM)

RESOURCES