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Streptococcus mutans , a major pathogen of dental caries, is also known as a causative agent of cardiovascular disease. A 120 kDa collagen-binding protein (Cnm) of  S. mutans  is an important contributor to the pathogenicity of cardiovascular disease. Although dead bacteria have been detected in cardiovascular specimens by molecular biological methods, the pathogenicity of the bacteria remains unknown. Here, we analyzed the pathogenicity of killed  S. mutans  by focusing on collagen-binding ability and the effects on silkworms. In live  S. mutans , Cnm-positive  S. mutans  had high collagen-binding activity, while Cnm-negative  S. mutans  had no such activity. After treatment with killed Cnm-positive  S. mutans , amoxicillin-treated bacteria still had collagen-binding ability, while lysozyme-treated bacteria lost this ability. When live and amoxicillin-treated  S. mutans  strains were administered to silkworms, the survival rates of the silkworms were reduced; this reduction was more pronounced in Cnm-positive  S. mutans  infection than in Cnm-negative  S. mutans  infection. However, the administration of any of the lysozyme-treated bacteria did not reduce the survival rate of the silkworms. These results suggest that amoxicillin-killed Cnm-positive  S. mutans  strains maintain collagen-binding properties and pathogenicity in the silkworm model, and are possibly associated with pathogenicity in cardiovascular diseases.

Evaluation of the collagen-binding properties and virulence of killed Streptococcus mutans in a silkworm model