The Susceptibility to Calcium Hydroxide Modulated by the Essential walR Gene Reveals the Role for Enterococcus faecalis Biofilm Aggregation

Journal of Endodontics
Shizhou WuLei Lei

Abstract

Enterococcus faecalis is considered a predominant pathogen for persistent periapical infections and in addition is reportedly resistant to calcium hydroxide medication. The WalRK 2-component system of E. faecalis is essential for environmental adaptation, survival, and virulence. The goal of this study was to investigate the potential roles of walR in the regulation of biofilm aggregation, alkaline stress, and susceptibility to calcium hydroxide (CH) medication. Antisense walR RNA (aswalR) overexpression strains were constructed. Exopolysaccharide (EPS) production and bacterial viability of E. faecalis biofilms were evaluated by confocal laser scanning microscopy. Quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction was used to investigate the expressions of virulent factor genes. The proportion of viable bacteria and EPS production in dentin were assessed after CH medication. We showed that walR interference by aswalR RNA leads to a reduction in the dextran-dependent aggregation in E. faecalis biofilm. The overexpression of aswalR reduced the transcripts of the virulence genes and alkaline stress tolerance ability. Furthermore, the down-regulation of walR sensitized E. faecalis in infected canals to CH medication associated with i...Continue Reading

Citations

Sep 8, 2019·Journal of Orthopaedic Surgery and Research·Shizhou WuLei Lei
Sep 25, 2019·Journal of Dental Research·L LeiT Hu
Feb 7, 2021·Materials Science & Engineering. C, Materials for Biological Applications·Shizhou WuHockin H K Xu
Jun 5, 2021·Microbial Pathogenesis·Mahdi Asghari OzmaHossein Samadi Kafil

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