RESUMEN
The presence of periodontal pathogens is associated with an increased prevalence of rheumatoid arthritis (RA). The systemic antibody response to epitopes of these bacteria is often used as a proxy to study correlations between bacteria and RA. The primary aim of the present study is to examine the correlation between the presence of Aggregatibacter actinomycetemcomitans (Aa) in the oral cavity and serum antibodies against the leukotoxin (LtxA) produced by this bacterium. The salivary presence of Aa was analyzed with quantitative PCR and serum LtxA ab in a cell culture-based neutralization assay. The analyses were performed on samples from a well-characterized RA cohort (n = 189) and a reference population of blood donors (n = 101). Salivary Aa was present in 15% of the RA patients and 6% of the blood donors. LtxA ab were detected in 19% of RA-sera and in 16% of sera from blood donors. The correlation between salivary Aa and serum LtxA ab was surprisingly low (rho = 0.55 [95% CI: 0.40, 0.68]). The presence of salivary Aa showed no significant association with any of the RA-associated parameters documented in the cohort. A limitation of the present study is the relatively low number of individuals with detectable concentrations of Aa in saliva. Moreover, in the comparison of detectable Aa prevalence between RA patients and blood donors, we assumed that the two groups were equivalent in other Aa prognostic factors. These limitations must be taken into consideration when the result from the study is interpreted. We conclude that a systemic immune response to Aa LtxA does not fully reflect the prevalence of Aa in saliva. In addition, the association between RA-associated parameters and the presence of Aa was negligible in the present RA cohort.
RESUMEN
AIM: To assess the relationship between systemic inflammation markers and ocular surface parameters in hazelnut harvesters. MATERIAL AND METHOD: This prospective study included 30 patients presenting with moderate ocular surface diseases during the hazelnut harvesting season. A detailed ophthalmological examination was performed during the harvesting season and the first month after the end of treatment (control). Schirmer test, tear break-up time (TBUT), and ocular surface disease index (OSDI) scores were determined. In complete blood count analysis, in addition to the evaluation of inflammatory cells, the neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio (NLR), platelet-to-lymphocyte ratio (PLR), and systemic immune-inflammation index (SII) were calculated. RESULTS: Eosinophil percentage had a high level of negative correlation with the TBUT and Schirmer values and a high level of positive correlation with the OSDI score during the hazelnut picking season (r = -0.727, r = -0.735, r = 0.750, respectively). During the hazelnut harvesting season, the NLR and SII parameters had a moderate level of negative correlation with the TBUT (r = -0.29 and r = -0.276) and Schirmer (r = -0.33 and r = -0.298) values and a moderate level of positive correlation with the OSDI score (r = 0.389 and r = 0.264). CONCLUSION: In hazelnut harvesters, ocular allergy and inflammation may be associated with systemic biomarkers.
RESUMEN
The immune system, an exquisitely regulated physiological system, utilizes a wide spectrum of soluble factors and multiple cell populations and subpopulations at diverse states of maturation to monitor and protect the organism against foreign organisms. Immune surveillance is ensured by distinguishing self-antigens from self-associated with non-self (e.g., viral) peptides presented by major histocompatibility complexes (MHC). Pathology is often identified as unregulated inflammatory responses (e.g., cytokine storm), or recognizing self as a non-self entity (i.e., auto-immunity). Artificial intelligence (AI), and in particular specific machine learning (ML) paradigms (e.g., Deep Learning [DL]) proffer powerful algorithms to better understand and more accurately predict immune responses, immune regulation and homeostasis, and immune reactivity to challenges (i.e., immune allostasis) by their intrinsic ability to interpret immune parameters, pathways and events by analyzing large amounts of complex data and drawing predictive inferences (i.e., immune tweening). We propose here that DL models play an increasingly significant role in better defining and characterizing immunological surveillance to ancient and novel virus species released by thawing permafrost.
RESUMEN
The evidence that exposure to ambient ozone (O3) causes acute cardiovascular effects appears inconsistent. A repeated-measure study with 61 healthy young volunteers was conducted in Xinxiang, Central China. Real-time concentrations of O3 were monitored. Cardiovascular outcomes including blood pressure (BP), heart rate (HR), serum levels of high sensitivity C-reactive protein (hs-CRP), 8-hydroxy-2'-deoxyguanosine (8-OHdG), tissue-type plasminogen activator (t-PA), and platelet-monocyte aggregation (PMA) were repeated measured. Linear mixed-effect models were used to analyze the association of ambient O3 with these cardiovascular outcomes. Additionally, the modifying effects of glutathione S-transferase mu 1 (GSTM1) and glutathione S-transferase theta 1 (GSTT1) polymorphisms were estimated to explore the potential mechanisms and role of the association between O3 exposure and the above cardiovascular outcomes. A 10 µg/m3 increase in O3 was associated with increases of 9.2 mmHg (95% confidence interval [CI]: 2.5, 15.9), 7.2 mmHg (95% CI: 0.8, 13.6), and 21.2 bpm (95% CI: 5.8, 36.6) in diastolic BP (DBP, lag1), mean arterial BP (MABP, lag1), and HR (lag01), respectively. Meanwhile, the serum concentrations of hs-CRP, 8-OHdG, and t-PA were all increased by O3 exposure, but the PMA level was decreased. Stratification analyses showed that the estimated effects of O3 on DBP, MABP, and HR in GSTM1-sufficient subjects were significantly higher than in GSTM1-null subjects. Moreover, GSTM1-null genotype enhanced O3-induced increases, albeit insignificant, in levels of serum hs-CRP, 8-OHdG, and t-PA compared with GSTM1-sufficient genotype. Insignificant increases in hs-CRP and t-PA were also detected in GSTT1-null subjects. Taken together, our findings indicate that acute exposure to ambient O3 induces autonomic alterations, systemic inflammation, oxidative stress, and fibrinolysis in healthy young subjects. GSTM1 genotype presents the trend of modifying O3-induced cardiovascular effects.
