Artículos Revisión de 76 Revista CES Odontología ISSN 0120-971X Volumen 26 No. 2 Segundo Semestre de 2013 Effect of secretory IgA on the adherence of Streptococcus Mutans on human teeth Acción de la inmunoglobulina A secretora en el proceso de adherencia del Streptococcus mutans al diente humano Adriana Lucía Chamorro-Jiménez, 1 Andrea Ospina-Cataño, 1 Julián Camilo Arango-Rincón, 2 Cecilia María Martínez-Delgado 3 1 Microbiólogas y Bioanalistas. Universidad de Antioquia. E-mail: adrichamorroj@hotmail.com, aospinac@hotmail.com 2 Microbiologo y Bioanalista. MSc. Profesor Escuela de Microbiología Universidad de Antioquia. E-mail: julian.arango@gmail.com. 3 Odontóloga Epidemióloga Maestría en Docencia Universitaria. Profesora Facultad de Odontología. Universidad de Antioquia. E-mail: cmariamar@hotmail.com Recibido: abril de 2013. Aprobado: noviembre de 2013 Abstract Dental caries is a chronic infectious disease that affects all age groups in which the presence of Streptococcus mutans constitutes a decisive but not sufficient cause for development of the disease, and is the most frequently isolated organism in the oral cavity. On other hand, secretory IgA (IgA-S) as the first immune defense agent that protects oral mucosal surface by impeding bacterial colonization of the tooth through different mechanisms; however there is contradictory evidence regarding the actual role of IgA-S and its relation with the development of dental caries. The purpose was to complete a review of the literature between 1990 to 2008o in order to to explain the action of secretory immunoglobulin A during the adherence process of Streptococcus mutans to human teeth. Key words: Streptococcus mutans, Secretory immunoglobulin A, Dental caries, Starch synthase, Biofilm, Oral immune response, Saliva. Forma de citar:Chamorro-Jiménez AC, Ospina-Cataño A, Arango-Rincón JC, Martínez-Delgado CM. Acción de la inmunoglobulina A secretora en el proceso de adherencia de Streptococcus mutans al diente humano. Rev. CES Odont. 2013; 26(2) 76-106 Rev. CES Odont 2013; 26(2) 76-106