Patients with periodontitis might increase the risk of urologic cancers: a bidirectional two-sample Mendelian randomization study.

BACKGROUND: Numerous observational epidemiological studies have reported a bidirectional relationship between periodontitis and urological cancers. However, the causal link between these two phenotypes remains uncertain. This study aimed to examine the bidirectional causal association between periodontitis and four types of urological tumors, specifically kidney cancer (KC), prostate cancer (PC), bladder cancer (BC), and testis cancer (TC). METHODS: Based on large-scale genome-wide association study (GWAS) data, we utilized the two-sample Mendelian randomization (MR) approach to evaluate causal relationships between periodontitis and urological cancers. Several MR methods covering various consistency assumptions were applied in this study, including contamination mixture and Robust Adjusted Profile Score to obtain robust results. Summary-level data of individuals with European ancestry were extracted from the UK Biobank, the Kaiser GERA cohorts, and the FinnGen consortium. RESULTS: Our findings revealed significant positive genetic correlations between periodontitis and kidney cancer (OR 1.287; 95% CI 1.04, 1.594; P = 0.020). We did not find a significant association of periodontitis on prostate cancer, bladder cancer, and testis cancer. In reverse MR, no significant results were observed supporting the effect of urologic cancers on periodontitis (all P > 0.05). CONCLUSION: Our study provides the evidence of a potential causal relationship between periodontitis and kidney cancer. However, large-scale studies are warranted to confirm and elucidate the underlying mechanisms of this association.

Effect of tannic acid modification on the interface and emulsification properties of zein colloidal particles.

BACKGROUND: Interface modification driven by supramolecular self-assembly has been accepted as a valuable strategy for emulsion stabilization enhancement. However, there has been a dearth of comparative research on the effect of simple complexation and assembly from the perspective of the responsible mechanism. RESULTS: The present study selected zein and tannic acid (TA) as representative protein and polyphenol modules for self-assembly (coined as TA-modified zein particle and TA-zein complex particle) to explore the surface properties and interfacial behavior, as well as the stability of constructed Pickering emulsions to obtain the regulation law of different modification methods on the interfacial behavior of colloidal particles. The results demonstrated that TA-modified zein colloidal particles potentially improved the emulsifying properties. When the TA concentration was 3 mmol L-1 , the optimized TA-modified zein particle was nano-sized (109.83 nm) and had advantageous interfacial properties, including sharply reduced surface hydrophobicity, as well as a low diffusion rate at the oil/water interface. As a result, the shelf life of Pickering emulsion containing 50% oil phase was extended to 90 days. CONCLUSION: Through multi-angled research on the properties of the interfacial membrane, improvement of emulsion stability was a result of the formation of viscoelastic interfacial film that resulted from the decrease of absorption rate between particles and interface. Using refined regulation to investigate the role of different sample preparation methods from a mechanistic perspective. Overall, the present study has provided a reference for TA to regulate the surface properties and interface behavior of zein colloidal particles, enriched the understanding of colloidal interface assembly, and provided a theoretical basis for the quality control of interface-oriented food systems. © 2023 Society of Chemical Industry.

Small molecules interfacial assembly regulate the crystallization transition process for nobiletin stabilization.

Many bioactive nutraceuticals naturally occurring in food materials possess beneficial biological activities, while their use as functional supplements is subjected to hydrophobicity and crystallinity. Currently, inhibiting crystallization for such nutrients is of immense scientific interest. Here, we exploited diverse structural polyphenols as potential inhibitors for restraining Nobiletin crystallization. Specifically, the crystallization transition process could be influenced by the polyphenol gallol density, Nobiletin supersaturation (1, 1.5, 2, 2.5 mM), temperature (4, 10, 15, 25 and 37 ℃), and pH (3.5, 4, 4.5, 5), important factors for regulating the binding attachment and interactions. The optimized samples could be guided by NT100 lied in 4 ℃ at pH 4. Besides, the main assembly driving force was hydrogen-bonding cooperated with π-π stacking and electrostatic interaction, leading to a Nobiletin/TA combination ratio of âˆ¼ 3:1. Our findings proposed an innovative synergistic strategy for inhibiting crystallization and broaden potential applications of polyphenol-based materials in advanced biological fields.

Acute megakaryocytic leukemia: What have we learned.

Acute megakaryocytic leukemia (AMegL) is a biologically heterogenous subtype of acute myeloid leukemia (AML) that arises from megakaryocytes. Improvements in the accuracy of diagnosing AMegL as well as interest in the molecular analysis of leukemias have led to an increased amount of data available on this rare AML subtype. In this review, we will analyze the diverse molecular features unique to AMegL and how they have influenced the development of novel treatment strategies, including polyploidization. The review will also consider the data available on clinical outcomes in AMegL and how it is a poor individual prognostic factor for AML. Finally, the role of allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplant in AMegL will be explored.

Maintenance of thalamic epileptiform activity depends on the astrocytic glutamate-glutamine cycle.

The generation of prolonged neuronal activity depends on the maintenance of synaptic neurotransmitter pools. The astrocytic glutamate-glutamine cycle is a major mechanism for recycling the neurotransmitters GABA and glutamate. Here we tested the effect of disrupting the glutamate-glutamine cycle on two types of neuronal activity patterns in the thalamus: sleep-related spindles and epileptiform oscillations. In recording conditions believed to induce glutamine scarcity, epileptiform oscillations showed a progressive reduction in duration that was partially reversible by the application of exogenous glutamine (300 muM). Blocking uptake of glutamine into neurons with alpha-(methylamino) isobutyric acid (5 mM) caused a similar reduction in oscillation duration, as did blocking neuronal GABA synthesis with 3-mercaptoproprionic acid (10 muM). However, comparable manipulations did not affect sleep spindles. Together, these results support a crucial role for the glutamate-glutamine cycle in providing the neurotransmitters necessary for the generation of epileptiform activity and suggest potential therapeutic approaches that selectively reduce seizure activity but maintain normal neuronal activity.