RESEARCH ARTICLE


Whole Saliva has a Dual Role on the Adherence of Candida albicans to Polymethylmetacrylate



N Elguezabal1, J.L. Maza2, S. Dorronsoro3, J. Pontón4, *
1 Department of Inmunología, Microbiología y Parasitología, Facultad de Medicina y Odontología, Universidad del PaísVasco, Spain
2 Department of Estomatología, Facultad de Medicina y Odontología, Universidad del PaísVasco, Spain
3 Department of Biología Oral, Facultad de Odontología, Universidad Nacional de Córdoba, República Argentina
4 Department of Inmunología, Microbiología y Parasitología, Facultad de Medicina y Odontología, Universidad del PaísVasco, Spain


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Creative Commons License
2008 Bentham Science Publishers Ltd.

open-access license: This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.5/), which permits unrestrictive use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

* Address correspondence to this author at the Departamento de Inmunología, Microbiología y Parasitología, Facultad de Medicina y Odontología, Universidad del País Vasco, Apartado 699, E-48080 Bilbao, Vizcaya, Spain; Tel: 34-94-6012855; Fax: 34-94-6013495; E-mail: jose.ponton@ehu.es


Abstract

Adhesion of Candida albicans to acrylic of dental prostheses or to salivary macromolecules adsorbed on their surface is believed to be a critical event in the development of denture stomatitis. In previous studies our group has shown that adhesion of C. albicans germ tubes to polystyrene is decreased by saliva whereas C. albicans yeast cells adhesion to the same material is enhanced. The results presented in this study confirm this dual role played by whole saliva, since it decreased the adhesion of germ tubes but increased the adhesion of yeast cells to polymethylmetacrylate (PMMA). These effects mediated by whole saliva do not seem to be related to an inhibition of the germination of C. albicans, since similar levels of filamentation were observed in presence and absence of saliva. These results may give new insights into the conflicting role of saliva in the adhesion of C. albicans to acrylic resins of dental prostheses.