Hope for a vaccine against tooth decay

Researchers at the Portuguese Institute of Biomedical Sciences at the University of Porto believe they have successfully developed a vaccine against tooth decay, one of the health problems most common in the world. The vaccine has been tested successfully on lab rats.
Dental caries are one of the most infectious diseases prevalent in humans and diseases are among the most expensive in the world because of the prevalence. The group of oral bacteria Streptococcus mutans is the major causative agent of human dental caries. In this group, Streptococcus mutans and Streptococcus sobrinus correspond to the species most commonly isolated in humans. Streptococcus sobrinus immunomodulatory produces a protein responsible for virulence (VIP), which suppresses the immune response specific to the host against microbes.
The researchers hypothesized that immunization VIP could induce specific protection against the microbe responsible, and have tested on rats infected with Streptococcus sobrinus. The model of cavities of rats has been widely used to determine the protective immune to this disease because it is developing very similar to human beings.
All rats involved in the research at Oporto have been subjected to a regime cariogenic and received drinking water with added sugar. They were then orally infected with S. sobrinus. Some animals have been immunized repeatedly by intranasal administration of the vaccine. At the end of the experiment, the extent of damage to the enamel caries of the first, second and third molars of all rats (decay rate) was evaluated microscopically and levels of infection in S. sobrinus were measured.
The immune this group, compared with the control group, a rate of caries lesions of enamel below 50%. The researchers also assessed the colonization of S. in the sobrinus oral cavities of rats. Result: VIP immunized groups have a net reduction in the levels of S. sobrinus, while non-immunized group has maintained high levels of bacteria throughout the study.
The potential benefits are enormous: the painful and expensive fillings could soon be a thing of the past. The benefits would be enormous for those who have no access to dental care, including many poor people in rich countries and the majority of people in developing countries.
The discovery was patented in Portugal, and researchers have applied for a patent. The next step of research will be the development, always on rodents, a preventive vaccine. For now, the results have been achieved through a therapeutic vaccine. The ultimate goal of scientists is an effective pre-immunization, ie before the infection develops.
The Portuguese team is now seeking funding that will enable it to conduct tests on primates and, subsequently, on human beings. The human vaccine could be marketed early next decade