Author(s)

Catarina L. Seabra^1,2,3,4, Cláudia M. Botelho^5*, Ana C. N. Oliveira^6,7, Mariana Henriques⁵

¹Instituto de investigação e Inovação em Saúde, University of Porto, Porto, Portugal.
²Instituto de Engenharia Biomédica, University of Porto, Porto, Portugal.
³Instituto de Patologia e Imunologia Molecular da Universidade do Porto, University of Porto, Porto, Portugal.
⁴Instituto de Ciências Biomédicas Abel Salazar, University of Porto, Porto, Portugal.
⁵Centre of Biological Engineering (CEB), Laboratório de Investigação em Biofilmes Rosário Oliveira, University of Minho, Braga, Portugal.
⁶Centre of Physics (CFUM), Department of Physics, University of Minho, Braga, Portugal.
⁷Centre of Molecular and Environmental Biology (CBMA), Department of Biology, University of Minho, Braga, Portugal.

Objectives: This research work intends to clarify the role of artificial saliva, in particularly the role of mucin, a salivary protein, on the surface properties and adhesion ability of Candida spp. oral clinical isolates to abiotic surfaces. Methods: Four oral clinical isolates of Candida spp. were used: two Candida albicans strains (AC; AM) and two Candida parapsilosis strains (AD; AM2). The strains were isolated from patients using oral prosthesis. The microorganisms were cultured in the absence or presence of mucin and artificial saliva, and their adhesion to an abiotic surface (coated with mucin and artificial saliva) was evaluated. Results: The presence of mucin per se onto the abiotic surface decreased the adhesion of all strains, although the combination of mucin with artificial saliva had reduced this effect. No direct correlation between adhesion and the surface free energies of adhesion of the microorganisms was found. Significance: Candida spp. were human commensal microorganisms that became pathogenic when the host immune defenses were compromised. Medical devices were colonized by Candida spp. particularly, oral prostheses, which might lead to the degradation of the prostheses and systemic infections. The salivary secretions that constantly cover the oral cavity influenced Candida spp. adhesion process. Therefore, it was important to understand the interactions between Candida spp., salivary proteins and the characteristic of oral prosthesis when developing materials for oral prostheses.

Candida, Artificial Saliva, Mucin, Oral Adhesion, Surface Properties

Seabra, C. , Botelho, C. , Oliveira, A. and Henriques, M. (2015) Influence of Saliva and Mucin on the Adhesion of Candida Oral Clinical Isolates. Journal of Encapsulation and Adsorption Sciences, 5, 217-227. doi: 10.4236/jeas.2015.54018.