Vaccine against dental caries based on virulence-associated immunomodulatory extracellular proteins produced by the cariogenic bacteria Streptococcus sobrinus and Streptococcus mutans

摘要

This invention is concerned with a vaccine against dental caries obtained from the supernatant over cultures of the cariogenic bacteria Streptococcus sobrinus and S. mutans that consists of extracellular proteins. These proteins provide the suppression of the immune response in the host through the early production of IL-10, an anti-inflammatory cytokine and are, for that reason, virulent factors to the microorganism enhancing bacterial load in the host. These proteins were designated as virulence-associated immunomodulatory extracellular proteins (VIP). Vaccination through the host immunization with active VIP in a submitogenis dose, inactivated VIP or enolase in a dose unable to induce immunosuppression, induces the immunoneutralization of the VIP immunobiological effects.;Vaccination can be used both as a preventive or therapeutic measure of dental caries as long as it is administered (intranasally, orally or subcutaneously) into mammals before or after bacterial infection, respectively.