Fig. 8

Expression of cariogenicity-related virulence factors of S. mutans biofilms by real-time reverse transcription-quantitative PCR. A Results for gtfB, gtfC, and ftf. B Results for vicR and comD. C Results for ldh and atpF. D Results for spaP and gbpB. The level of expression of each gene was normalized to the level of 16S rRNA expression, and the fold change relative to the findings for the control was calculated using the 2^−ΔΔCT method. Control, S. mutans growth in BHI medium; TCS, S. mutans growth in BHI medium supplemented with 5.9 µg/mL TCS; TCS@PLGA, S. mutans growth in BHI medium supplemented with 30 µg/mL TCS@PLGA-NPs; LA/TCS@PLGA, S. mutans growth in BHI medium supplemented with 40 µg/mL LA/TCS@PLGA-NPs. The results are expressed as the mean ± SD, ^nsP > 0.05; *P < 0.05; + P < 0.05, compared with the control group