Cytoplasmic proteins of Streptococcus mutans (serotype c) and their interaction with fluoride.

The protein profile of the cytoplasmic proteins of Streptococcus mutans GS-5 was determined by two-dimensional gel electrophoresis. Use of this recently developed, high-resolution analytical tool showed in excess of 140 cytoplasmic proteins. The profile consisted of mostly acidic components with pI values between 3.70 and 5.30 and relative molecular weights mainly in the 13,000 to 90,000 range. With sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis, the proteins were resolved into 40 to 45 components. The binding of fluoride by the proteins reached a maximum value in 15 min, and it was linear with exogenous F- doses of up to 60 to 80 ppm per mg of protein (60 to 80 micrograms/g). The proteins bound 22 to 138 times more F- from assay mixtures containing 1 mM CaCl2 than from assay mixtures containing such ions as HgCl2, ZnCl2, CuCl2, MgCl2, MnCl2, or SnCl2. When NaF, SnF2, NH4F, CsF, (CH3)4NF, and Na2PO3F were used as sources of F- (adjusted to 10 ppm of F- in all cases), the proteins bound 2.1, 1.8, 1.6, 1.4, and 0.3 ppm of F- per mg of protein, respectively. Initial fractionation of the plasma proteins by preparative column isoelectric focusing indicated that proteins with pI values of 4.1 to 4.5 as well as those with pI values of 5.0 to 5.3 bound twice as much F- as did the proteins outside these pI values.