Oral immunization of humans with Streptococcus sobrinus glucosyltransferase

Abstract

The effect of oral administration of glucosyltransferase (GTF) from Streptococcus sobrinus 6715 on levels of immunoglobulin A (IgA) antibody to GTF in parotid saliva and on the number of indigenous Streptococcus mutans in the whole saliva was studied in young adult males. GTF combined with aluminum phosphate (AP) was administered in capsules to 14 subjects, while sodium phosphate buffer combined with AP was administered in the same way to 11 control subjects. Thirteen administrations were given during the first immunization regimen, and five administrations, approximately 3 months later, constituted the second immunization regimen. All subjects were given professional dental prophylaxis immediately prior to each immunization. Each subject served as his own control by using antibody and bacterial data collected prior to antigen administration for comparison. After the first immunization regimen, the GTF vaccine group exhibited a significantly higher distribution (P less than 0.05) of normalized parotid saliva IgA antibody elevations than observed in the placebo group. Between the first and second immunization regimens a significant increase (P less than 0.05) in parotid salivary anti-GTF activity also occurred in the GTF vaccine but not the placebo group. No significant differences between these two groups were observed on any occasion when serum IgG or IgA antibody to GTF was analyzed. Comparison of the group mean log ratios (post- to prevaccine administration) of S. mutans to total streptococci in whole saliva revealed that the GTF vaccine group values were always lower than those of the placebo group. These differences reached significance (P less than 0.01) on three of the last four sampling occasions (days 21, 35, and 42) following initiation of the first immunization regimen. The mean log ratios of the GTF vaccine group were also lower than those of the placebo group after the second immunization regimen but did not reach significance. These data indicate that oral administration of GTF from the mutans streptococci has the potential to elicit a salivary IgA antibody response when combined with an aluminum-based adjuvant and that this response can interfere with the reaccumulation of indigenous S. mutans following dental prophylaxis.