Abstract
The lubricating properties of human submandibular-sublingual salivary fractions were examined using a servohydraulic model of mandibular movement. Fractions containing statherin exhibited a strong tendency to boundary lubrication. The lubricity of purified statherin was confirmed and compared to the amphipathic molecules gramacidin S and sodium dodecyl sulfate. Contact angle measurements of statherin paralleled the other amphipathic molecules. The helical content of statherin increased in trifluoroethanol indicating the presence of amphipathic helical regions. CD studies and hydrophobic moment calculations indicated that statherin adopts an amphipathic helical conformation at the N-terminus. An energy-minimized model of the polar N-terminal residues 1-15 suggested that this domain could be positioned in space to interact with a hydroxyapatite substrate. These data imply that under appropriate conditions statherin may display an amphipathic nature which enables it to function as a boundary lubricant on enamel.
| Original language | English (US) |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 91-97 |
| Number of pages | 7 |
| Journal | Biochemical and Biophysical Research Communications |
| Volume | 180 |
| Issue number | 1 |
| DOIs | |
| State | Published - Oct 15 1991 |
| Externally published | Yes |
Bibliographical note
Funding Information:This research was supported by the USPHS grant DE08240.