METHODS AND COMPOSITIONS FOR CONTROLLING DENTAL CARIES, AND RECOMBINANT SmaA POLYPEPTIDES USEFUL FOR SAME

摘要

Described are methods and compositions for controlling dental caries in a host which involve the administration of a fimbrial-associated adhesion from S. mutans, SmaA, or a fragment thereof, to the oral cavity of the host. Methods for controlling dental caries include administering non-immunogenic polypeptides from bacterial adhesions to competitively block bacterial attachment without implicating the immune system of the host. Novel isolated DNA encoding SmaA or a fragment thereof, as well as recombinant SmaA protein of fragment, and methods for their production, are also described.