Dewi Satwika, Muhaimin Rifa’I, Widodo
Dental caries is one of infectious diseases due to microorganism invasion. Dental caries suffered mostly in children at 4-6 years old. Streptococcus mutans is the main microorganism founded in lesion dental caries and this microorganism produced acid from sugar fermentation leading pH decreased in the oral cavity. Neutrophil cell is one of immune cells that come first to the dental tissue after S. mutans exposure. Immune response initiates when TLR on neutrophil cells binds to the virulence factor of bacteria. This complex will induce cytokine production. The aims of this study are to investigate acid effect to the expression of TLR2 and TLR4 in the neutrophil and lymphocyte cytokine production. Dental condition was measured by dentist through deft index examination. Neutrophil and lymphocyte cells were isolated from salivaof pre-school children in Surabaya city, Indonesia. Neutrophil and lymphocyte then were stained with fluorescence antibodies and analyzed by flowcytometry. The result showed that the relative number of TLR-2 increased significantly in the caries group on acid pH. Meanwhile, number of TLR4 between free and carries group was different but not significant. Number TLR2 increased might due to the domination of S. mutans and other gram positive bacteria in the oral cavity which have cell-wall antigenic LTA. Complex TLR2: LTA initiated immune response through cytokine production. However, the production of TLR2 was not accompanied by increasing the level lymphocyte cytokines IFN-γ and TNF-α. The cytokine decreased in caries group than healthy ones. This result suggested that the decreasing of IFN-γ and TNF-α be due to immune cell function diminish because extracellular pH decreased. © Nova Science Publishers, Inc.
Department of Biology, Brawijaya University, Malang, Indonesia
