Fibronectin Binding Activity of Streptococcus anginosus Promotes Adherence to Mucosal Epithelial Cells

Abstract

Streptococcus anginosus inhabit dental plaque, and its infection to oral mucosa could be associated with oral squamous cell carcinoma. However, the adhesive mechanism to oral mucosa remained to be elucidated. In this study, the adhesive abilities of S. anginosus to mucosal epithelial cells and extracellular matrix (ECM) proteins were investigated. The results indicated that S. anginosus can adhere to the mucosal epithelial cells (HEp-2 cells) as other oral streptococci do, and that the adhesive ability could be ascribable to mainly its fibronectin-mediated adherence. Furthermore, the adhesive ability to HEp-2 cells of the S. anginosus isolates from oral cancer tissues was significantly higher than that of the isolates from the plaque sample of healthy subjects. Thus, the present findings indicate that the fibronectin-mediated adherence could play an important role in the initial process of S. anginosus infection to oral mucosa.