Surface-associated properties of Streptococcus milleri group strains and their potential relation to pathogenesis

Thirty strains from the Streptococcus milleri (anginosus) group (SMG) obtained from various sources were tested for a range of characters that could be associated with pathogenicity and the results were compared with those for type strains of S. sanguis, S. mutans and S. pyogenes. The SMG strains were heterogeneous in all tests. Most (18) belonged to one of the Lancefield groups with group F predominating. Adherence of strains isolated from abscesses to buccal epithelial cells was greater than that of other strains (p = 0.033). Compared with strains of S. sanguis, SMG strains were generally not aggregated by human saliva. They differed from the type strain of S. pyogenes in their relative ability to bind fibrinogen and fibronectin; they were less effective in binding fibrinogen (0.33-4.28% cf. 22% for S. pyogenes) and generally more effective in binding fibronectin (0.49-12.37% cf. 0.95%). Strains isolated from infections were statistically better at binding fibronectin than other strains (p less than 0.001). The ability of strains to adhere to saliva-coated hydroxyapatite (SHA) varied 10-fold, from 0.16-16.35%. The amount of fibronectin bound by SMG strains correlated with their ability to adhere to SHA (p less than 0.001). The hydrophobicity of the strains, as measured in the hexadecane partition assay, ranged from 0.0% to 99.0%. Some strains carried both positive and negative cell-surface charges and some strains with a highly hydrophobic cell surface also possessed a relatively high cell-surface charge. A minority of strains possessed a net positive cell-surface charge. Neither hydrophobicity nor cell-surface charge was related to the capacity of strains to adhere to SHA. Strains of SMG co-aggregated weakly with strains of Veillonella parvula, V. dispar, Actinomyces viscosus and A. naeslundii.