Antimicrobial peptides of human saliva

Abstract

Among the many functions of human saliva, its digestive and protective properties have attracted the most interest. Human saliva contains a number of physical, physicochemical and chemical agents that protect oral tissues against by various microorganisms and their metabolic products. Among such protective factors, the flushing effect of saliva flow is the most important one, not only because it so effectively removes exogenous and endogenous microorganisms and their products into the gut but also because a steady supply of saliva guarantees continuous presence of both non-immune and immune factors in the mouth. The most important antimicrobial peptides in saliva are: histatins, defensins, lactoferrin, cathelicidins, mucins, calprotectin, lysozyme, oral peroxidase. Antimicrobial peptides are components of complex host secretions, acting synergisticaly with other innate defence molecules to combat infection and control resident microbial populations throughout the oral cavity.Pored uloge pljuvacke u samociscenju oralne sredine, odrzavanju fizioloskih vrednosti Ph, odrzavanju integriteta cvrstih i mekih tkiva oralne sredine, ovaj sekret ispoljava i znacajnu antimikrobnu zastitu oralnih tkiva. Pljuvacka sadrzi brojne fizicke, fizicko-hemijske i hemijske agense koji ucestvuju u zastiti oralnih tkiva od mikroorganizama i njihovih produkata, s obzirom na cinjenicu da usna duplja predstavlja ?ulazna vrata? organizma za patogene. Antimikrobni proteini pljuvacke predstavljaju glavne faktore nespecificne humoralne antimikrobne zastite oralne sredine. Poreklom su iz pljuvacnih zlezda, epitelnih celija oralne mukoze i leukocita. Najznacajniji antimikrobni proteini pljuvacke su: histatini, defenzini, lakoferin, katelicidini, mucini, kalprotektin, lizozim, oralna peroksidaza. Pored toga sto sprecavaju kolonizaciju oralne mukoze patogenim mikroorganizmima i odrzavanje normalne oralne bakterijske flore, ovi sastojci pljuvacke imaju i znacaj u odrzavanju opsteg zdravlja organizma, jer sprecavaju transmisiju patogena u unutrasnju sredinu domacina.