Dispersin B (also known as DspB or DispersinB) is a 42 kDa glycoside hydrolase

Glycoside hydrolase

Glycoside hydrolases catalyze the hydrolysis of the glycosidic linkage to release smaller sugars...

 enzyme

Enzyme

Enzymes are proteins that catalyze chemical reactions. In enzymatic reactions, the molecules at the beginning of the process, called substrates, are converted into different molecules, called products. Almost all chemical reactions in a biological cell need enzymes in order to occur at rates...

 produce by the periodontal pathogen Aggregatibacter actinomycetemcomitans

Aggregatibacter actinomycetemcomitans

Aggregatibacter actinomycetemcomitans is an oral commensal found also in severe infections in the oral cavity, mainly the periodontium. A. actinomycetemcomitans, previously Actinobacillus actinomycetemcomitans, is a gram negative facultative non-motile rod. It is also associated with non-oral...

. Dispersin B catalyzes

Catalysis

Catalysis is the change in rate of a chemical reaction due to the participation of a substance called a catalyst. Unlike other reagents that participate in the chemical reaction, a catalyst is not consumed by the reaction itself. A catalyst may participate in multiple chemical transformations....

 the hydrolysis

Hydrolysis

Hydrolysis is a chemical reaction during which molecules of water are split into hydrogen cations and hydroxide anions in the process of a chemical mechanism. It is the type of reaction that is used to break down certain polymers, especially those made by condensation polymerization...

 of poly-N-acetylglucosamine, a sticky extracellular polysaccharide produce by various Gram-positive bacteria including Staphylococcus aureus and Staphylococcus epidermidis, as well as many Gram-negative bacteria including Escherichia coli, Yersinia pestis and Bordetella spp. Poly-N-acetylglucosamine is sometimes called polysaccharide intercellular adhesin or PIA.

Function

Dispersin B plays a role in the detachment and dispersal of bacterial cells from Aggregatibacter actinomycetemcomitans biofilm

Biofilm

A biofilm is an aggregate of microorganisms in which cells adhere to each other on a surface. These adherent cells are frequently embedded within a self-produced matrix of extracellular polymeric substance...

s.

Applications

Dispersin B may be useful for treating and preventing biofilm-associated infections caused by poly-N-acetylglucosamine-producing bacteria.

Commercial development

Dispersin B is being commercially developed as a wound care gel and medical device coating by Kane Biotech, Inc., a Canadian biotech company. Pharmaceutical-grade dispersin B has been successfully manufactured by BioVectra, Inc., Charlottetown, P.E.I., Canada, and is currently undergoing biocompatibility testing. Clinical trials to test the effectiveness of dispersin B for the treatment and prevention of diabetic foot ulcers and pressure sores should begin in 2010.