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Cytocompatibility and Synergy of EGCG and Cationic Peptides Against Bacteria Related to Endodontic Infections, in Planktonic and Biofilm Conditions

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Abstract

This study evaluated the cytocompatibility and antimicrobial/antibiofilm effects of epigallocatechin-3-gallate (EGCG) associated with peptide LL-37 and its analogue KR-12-a5 against oral pathogens. The effect of the compounds on metabolism of fibroblasts was evaluated by methyltetrazolium assays. Antimicrobial activity of the compounds was evaluated on Streptococcus mutans, Enterococcus faecalis, Actinomyces israelii, and Fusobacterium nucleatum under planktonic conditions, on single- and dual-species biofilms and E. faecalis biofilms in dentinal tubules and analyzed by bacterial counts and confocal microscopy. Data were statistically analyzed considering p < 0.05. EGCG and peptide combinations were not toxic to fibroblasts. KR-12-a5 showed synergistic or addictive effects with EGCG and LL-37 against all bacteria tested. However, EGCG associated with KR-12-a5 demonstrated the highest bactericidal activity on all bacteria tested, at lower concentrations. In single-species biofilms, EGCG + KR-12-a5 eliminated S. mutans and A. israelii and reduced E. faecalis and F. nucleatum counts around 5 log CFU/mL. EGCG + KR-12-a5 reduced E. faecalis (-3.93 log CFU/mL) and eliminated S. mutans in dual-species biofilms. No growth of E. faecalis and significant reduction in A. israelii (−6.24 log CFU/mL) and F. nucleatum (−4.62 log CFU/mL) counts were detected in dual-species biofilms. The combination of EGCG and KR-12-a5 led to 88% of E. faecalis dead cells inside dentin tubules. The association of EGCG and KR-12-a5 was cytocompatible and promoted synergistic effect against biofilms of bacteria associated with endodontic infections.

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Data Availability

The data that support the findings are part of KSC’s thesis and are available in UNESP Institutional Repository (https://repositorio.unesp.br/).

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Funding

This study was supported by CNPq (# 140467/2018–1), FAPESP (#2013/07600–3), and CAPES (financial code #01 and CAPES-PROCAD # 88881.068437/2014–01).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Preventive and Restorative Dentistry, Araçatuba Dental School, São Paulo State University (UNESP), Aracatuba, São Paulo, Brazil

    Karina Sampaio Caiaffa, Vanessa Rodrigues dos Santos, Luciano Tavares Angelo Cintra & Cristiane Duque

  2. Department of Restorative Dentistry, Piracicaba Dental School, State University of Campinas (UNICAMP), Piracicaba, São Paulo, Brazil

    Gabriel Flores Abuna

  3. Department of Biochemistry and Organic Chemistry, São Paulo State University - Institute of Chemistry (UNESP), Araraquara, São Paulo, Brazil

    Norival Alves Santos-Filho & Eduardo Maffud Cilli

  4. Department of Clinics and Surgery, School of Dentistry, Federal University of Alfenas (UNIFAL-MG), Alfenas, Minas Gerais, Brazil

    Vivien Thiemy Sakai

Authors
  1. Karina Sampaio Caiaffa
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  2. Vanessa Rodrigues dos Santos
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  3. Gabriel Flores Abuna
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  4. Norival Alves Santos-Filho
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  6. Vivien Thiemy Sakai
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  7. Luciano Tavares Angelo Cintra
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  8. Cristiane Duque
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Contributions

C.D. and K.S.C. designed all preliminary experiments. C.D., K.S.C., and G.F.A. revised the microbiology experiment design and organized and analyzed the data. K.S.C., V.R.S., G.F.A., and N.A.S. performed all the study experiments and interpreted the project results. C.D. and K.S.C. wrote the initial draft of the manuscript. E.M.C., V.T.S., and L.T.A.C. revised critically the manuscript, and C.D. and K.S.C. performed the final revision of the manuscript prior to its submission.

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Cristiane Duque.

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Ethical Approval

This article does not contain any studies with human participants performed by any of the authors. This study was approved by the Animal Committee of Araçatuba Dental School, UNESP, Brazil (FOA: 01194–2017).

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The authors declare no competing interests.

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Caiaffa, K.S., dos Santos, V.R., Abuna, G.F. et al. Cytocompatibility and Synergy of EGCG and Cationic Peptides Against Bacteria Related to Endodontic Infections, in Planktonic and Biofilm Conditions. Probiotics & Antimicro. Prot. 13, 1808–1819 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12602-021-09830-3

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