Objective: The oral mucosa of patients undergoing dental procedures is often exposed to residual monomers leaking from incompletely cured acrylic resins. We investigated whether 2-hydroxyethyl methacrylate (HEMA) monomers applied to the sublingual mucosa in mice modulate the antibody responses towards co-administered ovalbumin (OVA) or live oral bacteria.
Material and methods: OVA, live mouse oral commensal Lactobacillus murinus or live human oral commensal Streptococcus mutans were administered sublingually with or without HEMA to BALB/c mice on four weekly occasions. One week after the last administration, the experiment was terminated and serum antibody levels were analyzed using ELISA.
Results: Significantly increased IgG and IgE anti-OVA antibody activity was found in the sera from mice immunized with OVA together with HEMA, as compared to mice immunized with OVA alone. Likewise, S. mutans together with HEMA induced an IgG anti-S. mutans antibody response that was significantly higher than the antibody response detected after application of S. mutans alone. No IgG anti-L. murinus antibody response was detected in mice immunized with L. murinus together with HEMA, as compared to the background activity.
Conclusions: We report that HEMA monomers have adjuvant properties when sublingually administered in combination with OVA or S. mutans.
Keywords: 2-Hydroxyethyl methacrylate; adjuvant; oral microflora; sublingual immunization.