Importance of antimicrobial factors for microbiocenosis and local immunity of the oral cavity in children with mucoviscidosis

Abstract

The involvement of commensals and opportunistic pathogens and the role of protective mechanisms in the development of dental diseases in children with cystic fibrosis require more detailed study. The aim of the study was to determine the ecological characteristics of the oral microbiota and some antimicrobial factors of saliva in children with mucoviscidosis. Materials and methods. The study involved an assessment of oral microbiota as complex ecological system that protects the human body from colonization by pathogenic flora in children with cystic fibrosis. Bacteriological studies have been performed on clinical material from 30 children with mucoviscidosis diagnosed with dental and periodontal diseases. Results. In the microbiological study of plaque microbiota, 70 strains of opportunistic pathogens were isolated in patients with mucoviscidosis. The most significant were alpha-hemolytic Streptococci (40%). The proportion of bacteria of Neisseria genus in patients with cystic fibrosis was lower and amounted to 24.3%. C. albicans fungi were isolated in comparable values (18.5%), S. aureus (8.5%), as well as gram-negative strains of E. aerogenes (4.3%) and E. coli (4.3%) significantly dominated. The results indicate that opportunistic pathogens S. aureus, E. aerogenes and E. coli partially replaced the representatives of the normal oral microbiota alpha-hemolytic streptococci and non-pathogenic species of Neisseria genus in patients with mucoviscidosis. Conclusions. Microbiota of plaque in children with mucoviscidosis is characterized by an expansion of the spectrum of opportunistic pathogens due to Staphylococcus aureus, enterobacteria and C. albicans fungi, which indicates a violation of the microbiocenosis due to reduced mucosal immunity. Mucosal immunity of the oral cavity in children with mucoviscidosis is characterized by a 1.5-fold decrease in lysozyme activity and the level of secretory IgA in the saliva of children.