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Amer A, Whelan A, Al-Hebshi NN, Healy CM, Moran GP.
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J Oral Microbiol. 2020 Mar 21;12(1):1743066. doi: 10.1080/20002297.2020.1743066. 2020.
Abstract
Rothia mucilaginosa has been found at high abundance on oral leukoplakia (OLK). The
ability of clinical isolates to produce acetaldehyde (ACH) from ethanol has not been
investigated. The objective of the current study was to determine the capacity of R.
mucilaginosa isolates recovered from OLK to generate ACH. Analysis of R.
mucilaginosa genomes (n = 70) shows that this species does not normally encode
acetaldehyde dehydrogenase (ALDH) required for detoxification of ACH. The predicted
OLK metagenome also exhibited reduced ALDH coding capacity. We analysed ACH
production in 8 isolates of R. mucilaginosa and showed that this species is capable
of generating ACH in the presence of ethanol. The levels of ACH produced
(mean = 53 µM) were comparable to those produced by Neisseria mucosa and Candida
albicans in parallel assays. These levels were demonstrated to induce oxidative
stress in cultured oral keratinocytes. This study shows that R. mucilaginosa can
generate ACH from ethanol in vitro at levels which can induce oxidative stress. This
organism likely contributes to oral ACH levels following alcohol consumption and the
significance of the increased abundance of R. mucilaginosa in patients
with potentially malignant disorders requires further investigation.
Keywords: .
Link/DOI: 10.1080/20002297.2020.1743066