Periodontal pathogen Fusobacterium nucleatum infection accelerates hepatic steatosis in high-fat diet-fed ApoE knockout mice by inhibiting Nrf2/Keap1 signaling.

AIMS: This study sought to explore the impact of Fusobacterium nucleatum on hepatic steatosis in apolipoprotein E (ApoE) knockout (KO) mice induced by a high-fat diet (HFD) and elucidate the underlying mechanism. METHODS: ApoE KO mice, on a HFD, received F. nucleatum oral inoculation every other day. After 24 weeks, body weight, liver weight, and liver index were assessed. Serum biochemistry and pro-inflammatory factors in serum and liver were analyzed. The histopathology of right maxilla and live were performed. Oil red O, immunohistochemistry, and immunofluorescence staining for the liver were conducted. Myeloperoxidase (MPO) activity, apoptosis, lipid reactive oxygen species (ROS), ROS, lipid peroxides, and hepatic lipids were also evaluated. Liver inflammation, fibrosis, de novo lipogenesis (DNL)-related molecule, and Nrf2/Keap1-related signaling molecule gene/protein expression were determined by real-time PCR (RT-PCR) and/or Western blot (WB) analysis. RESULTS: HFD-fed ApoE KO mice infected by F. nucleatum demonstrated significant changes, including increased body and liver weight, elevated proinflammatory factors and lipids in serum and liver, as well as neutrophil infiltration, fibrosis, apoptosis, oxidative stress, and lipid peroxidation in the liver. Additionally, F. nucleatum stimulates hepatic lipid accumulation and activates de novo lipogenesis (DNL), while simultaneously suppressing the Nrf2/Keap1 antioxidant pathway. CONCLUSION: In conclusion, our study reveals that oral inoculation of F. nucleatum might promote hepatic steatosis by inhibiting Nrf2/Keap1 pathway.

Periodontal health status in cirrhotic patients: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

OBJECTIVES: Liver cirrhosis is a disease with widespread prevalence and high mortality. Oral manifestations, particularly periodontal-related manifestations such as bleeding gums, red and swollen gums, are common in cirrhotic patients but may often be overshadowed by other systemic complications, making them easy to ignore. So this article conducts a systematic review and meta-analysis of periodontal health status in patients with cirrhosis. MATERIAL AND METHODS: We performed electronic searches on the following databases: PubMed, EMBASE, Scopus, Web of Science, and Cochrane Library. Risk of bias evaluation was carried out according to the Fowkes and Fulton guidelines. Meta-analyses were performed with tests for sensitivity and statistical heterogeneity. RESULTS: Of the 368 potentially eligible articles, 12 studies were included for qualitative analysis, and 9 contributed to the meta-analysis. In terms of periodontal-related parameters, cirrhotic patients presented a greater mean of clinical attachment loss (CAL) (weighted mean differences [WMD] = 1.078, 95% confidence interval [95% CI]: 0.546-1.609, p < 0.001), probing depth (PD) (WMD = 0.796, 95% CI: 0.158 to 1.434, p = 0.015) and alveolar bone loss (ABL) (WMD = 3.465, 95% CI: 2.946-3.984, p < 0.001) than those without, while no statistical difference was found in the papillary bleeding index (PBI) (WMD = 0.166, 95% CI: -0546 to 0.878, p = 0.647) and bleeding on probing (BOP) (WMD = 4.913, 95% CI: -3.099 to 12.926, p = 0.229). The prevalence of periodontitis was higher in cirrhotic patients than in the control group (odds ratio [OR] = 2.630, 95% CI: 1.531-4.520, p < 0.001). CONCLUSIONS: The results indicate that cirrhotic patients have poor periodontal conditions and a higher prevalence of periodontitis. We advocate that they should receive regular oral hygiene and basic periodontal treatment.

Entamoeba gingivalis is associated with periodontal conditions in Chinese young patients: A cross-sectional study.

Background: This study investigated the prevalence and relative abundance of Entamoeba gingivalis (E. gingivalis) in Chinese young patients with different periodontal conditions, and its association with subgingival microbial composition, periodontal parameters, and cytokines in gingival crevicular fluid. Methods: Participants (age: 18-45 years) diagnosed with stage II-IV periodontitis, gingivitis, or periodontal health underwent periodontal examination and sampling. Subgingival plaque was analyzed by 16S+18S sequencing for E. gingivalis detection and microbial analysis. The distribution of E. gingivalis in subgingival plaque was illustrated by fluorescence in situ hybridization. Interleukin-1ß, interleukin-8, and tumor necrosis factor-α in gingival crevicular fluid were measured by multiplexed flow cytometric assay. Results: This cross-sectional study included 120 sites from 60 participants. The prevalence and relative abundance of E. gingivalis were significantly increased in periodontitis (p<0.05). The sites were classified into three subgroups according to the relative abundance of E. gingivalis: negative group (Eg0, n=56); low-abundance group (Eg1, n=32); and high-abundance group (Eg2, n=32). The subgingival microflora in the subgroups showed stepwise changes at both the phylum and genus levels. The microflora compositions were significantly altered from Eg0 to Eg2 (p<0.001). Co-occurrence network analysis showed that Porphyromonas, Treponema, Tannerella, Filifactor, TG5, and Desulfobulbus were highly correlated with E. gingivalis (r>0.6, p<0.001). Correlation analysis showed that E. gingivalis was closely associated with important periodontal parameters and cytokines (p<0.01). Conclusion: E. gingivalis was enriched in periodontitis and closely associated with subgingival microbial dysbiosis, periodontal parameters and cytokines in gingival crevicular fluid. Thus, it may be an important pathogen in periodontal disease.

Self-Healable and Reprocessable Polysulfide Sealants Prepared from Liquid Polysulfide Oligomer and Epoxy Resin.

Polysulfide sealants have been commercially applied in many industrial fields. In this article, we study the self-healing property of the epoxy resin-cured polysulfide sealants for the first time. The obtained sealants showed a flexible range of ultimate elongation of 157-478% and a tensile strength of 1.02-0.75 MPa corresponding to different polysulfide oligomers. By taking advantage of the dynamic reversible exchange of disulfide bonds, polysulfide sealants exhibited good self-healing ability under a moderate thermal stimulus. A higher molecular weight and a lower degree of cross-linking of polysulfide oligomer were helpful in improving the ultimate elongation and healing efficiency of the polysulfide sealants. After subjecting to a temperature of 75 °C for 60 min, both the tensile strength and ultimate elongation of a fully cut sample, LP55-F, were restored to 91% of the original values, without affecting the sealing property. Furthermore, the sample exhibited excellent reshaping and reprocessing abilities. These outcomes offer a paradigm toward sustainable industrial applications of the polysulfide-based sealants.