Browsing by Author "Schuh, Christina M. A. P."

Now showing 1 - 4 of 4
  • Thumbnail Image
    Item
    Biofilm formation on collagen substrates modulates Streptococcus mutans bacterial extracellular nanovesicle production and cargo
    (2025) Leiva Sabadini, Camila Andrea; Berríos Segovia, Pablo Germán; Saavedra Godoy, Paula Andrea; Carrasco Rojas, Javiera; González Aramundiz, José Vicente; Vera Véliz, Mario Andrés; Tarifeño Saldivia, Estefanía; Schuh, Christina M. A. P.; Aguayo Paul, Sebastián
    Streptococcus mutans is the major microbial etiological agent of dental caries and can adhere to surfaces such as type-I collagen, which is present in dentin and periodontal tissues. Recent studies have characterized planktonic S. mutans bacterial extracellular vesicles (bEVs) at the nanoscale range and demonstrated environmental-induced changes due to sugar presence or pH alterations. However, to date, no studies have explored whether surface-derived changes can modulate bEV production in the context of oral biofilm formation in the elderly. Therefore, this work aimed to determine the role of biofilm formation and collagen glycation on the nanoscale morphology and proteomic composition of S. mutans bEVs. For this, bEVs from S. mutans biofilms on native and glycated collagen surfaces were isolated, characterized, and compared to bEVs from planktonic cells. Nanoparticle tracking analysis (NTA), atomic force microscopy (AFM), and electron microscopy confirmed bEV production and showed that bEVs from biofilms are smaller in size and less abundant than those from planktonic cells. Furthermore, proteome analysis revealed that S. mutans biofilm formation on native and glycated collagen led to the enrichment of several key virulence proteins. Also, a shift towards proteins involved in metabolic processes was found in bEVs following biofilm formation on collagen surfaces, whereas glucan metabolism proteins were overexpressed in vesicles from the planktonic state. These results demonstrate that biofilm formation, as well as the glycation of collagen associated with aging and hyperglycaemia, can modulate bEV characteristics and cargo and could play a central role in S. mutans virulence and the development of diseases such as dental caries and periodontal disease.
  • Thumbnail Image
    Item
    Exosome-like vesicles in Apis mellifera bee pollen, honey and royal jelly contribute to their antibacterial and pro-regenerative activity
    (2019) Schuh, Christina M. A. P.; Aguayo Paul, Sebastián; Zavala, Gabriela; Khoury, Maroun
  • No Thumbnail Available
    Item
    Aloe vera peel-derived nanovesicles display anti-inflammatory properties and prevent myofibroblast differentiation
    (2024) Ramirez, Orlando; Pomareda, Florencia; Olivares, Belen; Huang, Ya-Lin; Zavala, Gabriela; Carrasco-Rojas, Javiera; Alvarez, Simon; Leiva-Sabadini, Camila; Hidalgo, Valeria; Romo, Pablo; Sanchez, Matias; Vargas, Ayleen; Martinez, Jessica; Aguayo, Sebastian; Schuh, Christina M. A. P.
    Background: Aloe vera (AV) is a medicinal plant, most known for its beneficial effects on a variety of skin conditions. Its known active compounds include carbohydrates and flavonoids such as quercetin and kaempferol, among others. In the past decade, plant nanovesicles (NVs) have gained considerable interest as interkingdom communicators, presenting an opportunity for clinical standardization of natural products. In this study, we aimed to assess the potential of AVpNVs for the treatment of burn wounds.
  • Thumbnail Image
    Item
    Microfabrication-based engineering of biomimetic dentin-like constructs to simulate dental aging
    (2024) Alvarez, Simon; Morales, Jose; Tiozzo-Lyon, Paola; Berrios, Pablo; Barraza, Valentina; Simpson, Kevin; Ravasio, Andrea; Monforte Vila, Xavier; Teuschl-Woller, Andreas; Schuh, Christina M. A. P.; Aguayo, Sebastian
    Human dentin is a highly organized dental tissue displaying a complex microarchitecture consisting of micrometer-sized tubules encased in a mineralized type-I collagen matrix. As such, it serves as an important substrate for the adhesion of microbial colonizers and oral biofilm formation in the context of dental caries disease, including root caries in the elderly. Despite this issue, there remains a current lack of effective biomimetic in vitro dentin models that facilitate the study of oral microbial adhesion by considering the surface architecture at the micro- and nanoscales. Therefore, the aim of this study was to develop a novel in vitro microfabricated biomimetic dentin surface that simulates the complex surface microarchitecture of exposed dentin. For this, a combination of soft lithography microfabrication and biomaterial science approaches were employed to construct a micropitted PDMS substrate functionalized with mineralized type-I collagen. These dentin analogs were subsequently glycated with methylglyoxal (MGO) to simulate dentin matrix aging in vitro and analyzed utilizing an interdisciplinary array of techniques including atomic force microscopy (AFM), elemental analysis, and electron microscopy. AFM force-mapping demonstrated that the nanomechanical properties of the biomimetic constructs were within the expected biological parameters, and that mineralization was mostly predominated by hydroxyapatite deposition. Finally, dual-species biofilms of Streptococcus mutans and Candida albicans were grown and characterized on the biofunctionalized PDMS microchips, demonstrating biofilm-specific morphologic characteristics and confirming the suitability of this model for the study of early biofilm formation under controlled conditions. Overall, we expect that this novel biomimetic dentin model could serve as an in vitro platform to study oral biofilm formation or dentin-biomaterial bonding in the laboratory without the need for animal or human tooth samples in the future., Our study aimed to develop a novel in vitro microfabricated biomimetic dentin surface that simulates the complex surface microarchitecture of exposed dentin, as well as age-derived glycation of teeth, for the growth of polymicrobial oral biofilms.