Polysaccharide production by cell free transferases in saliva in relation to salivary microflora

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Abstract
The supernatant of centrifuged whole saliva [human] was incubated with radiolabled sucrose to measure polysaccharide production by cell free transferases and to examine whetehr H2O-insoluble polysaccharides were produced. Amounts of polysaccharides were considered to reflect the level of cell free transferases in saliva. Plating samples on blood agar, mitis salivarius and mitis salivarius bacitracin plates gave salivary counts of total CFU [colony-forming units], total streptococci, Streptococcus salivarius and S. mutans. The capability of the cell free portion of saliva to produce polymers was confirmed and it appeared that the cell free transferases produced H2O-insoluble polysaccharides. Significant correlations were found between the total and the insoluble polysaccharides from 14C-G''-sucrose and total CFU, total streptococci, S. salivarius and S. mutans, respectively. Heavily S. mutans-infected subjects seemed to produce particularly large amounts of H2O-insoluble polysaccharides from 14C-G''-sucrose. The apparently H2O-insoluble 14C-F''-polysaccharides correlated significantly to the numbr of S. salivarius. Thus, the constitution of the oral microflora and particularly the levels of S. mutans and S. salivarius were of importance for the level of cell free transferase activity.