Isolation and Characterization of <i>Streptococcus</i> <i>mutans</i> Phage as a Possible Treatment Agent for Caries
Hadar Ben-Zaken,
Reut Kraitman,
Shunit Coppenhagen-Glazer,
Leron Khalifa,
Sivan Alkalay-Oren,
Daniel Gelman,
Gilad Ben-Gal,
Nurit Beyth,
Ronen Hazan
Affiliations
Hadar Ben-Zaken
Department of Prosthodontics, Hadassah School of Dental Medicine, Hebrew University, Jerusalem 91120, Israel
Reut Kraitman
Department of Prosthodontics, Hadassah School of Dental Medicine, Hebrew University, Jerusalem 91120, Israel
Shunit Coppenhagen-Glazer
Institute of Biomedical and Oral Research (IBOR), Faculty of Dental Sciences, School of Dental Medicine, The Hebrew University, Jerusalem 91120, Israel
Leron Khalifa
Institute of Biomedical and Oral Research (IBOR), Faculty of Dental Sciences, School of Dental Medicine, The Hebrew University, Jerusalem 91120, Israel
Sivan Alkalay-Oren
Institute of Biomedical and Oral Research (IBOR), Faculty of Dental Sciences, School of Dental Medicine, The Hebrew University, Jerusalem 91120, Israel
Daniel Gelman
Institute of Biomedical and Oral Research (IBOR), Faculty of Dental Sciences, School of Dental Medicine, The Hebrew University, Jerusalem 91120, Israel
Gilad Ben-Gal
Department of Prosthodontics, Hadassah School of Dental Medicine, Hebrew University, Jerusalem 91120, Israel
Nurit Beyth
Department of Prosthodontics, Hadassah School of Dental Medicine, Hebrew University, Jerusalem 91120, Israel
Ronen Hazan
Institute of Biomedical and Oral Research (IBOR), Faculty of Dental Sciences, School of Dental Medicine, The Hebrew University, Jerusalem 91120, Israel
Streptococcus mutans is a key bacterium in dental caries, one of the most prevalent chronic infectious diseases. Conventional treatment fails to specifically target the pathogenic bacteria, while tending to eradicate commensal bacteria. Thus, caries remains one of the most common and challenging diseases. Phage therapy, which involves the use of bacterial viruses as anti-bacterial agents, has been gaining interest worldwide. Nevertheless, to date, only a few phages have been isolated against S. mutans. In this study, we describe the isolation and characterization of a new S. mutans phage, termed SMHBZ8, from hundreds of human saliva samples that were collected, filtered, and screened. The SMHBZ8 genome was sequenced and analyzed, visualized by TEM, and its antibacterial properties were evaluated in various states. In addition, we tested the lytic efficacy of SMHBZ8 against S. mutans in a human cariogenic dentin model. The isolation and characterization of SMHBZ8 may be the first step towards developing a potential phage therapy for dental caries.
