Immune indices and oral health in patients infected with the human immunodeficiency virus.

BACKGROUND: The human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) is the causative agent of acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS). During the incubation period of AIDS, oral manifestations may precede systemic symptoms; therefore, it is vitally important to explore the relationship between HIV and oral health and other indicators. This study aimed to further assess the correlation between demographic risk factors, the dental health of HIV-infected patients, and the correlation of oral health indicators with CD4+ T-cell counts (CTCCs) and HIV viral loads (HIV-VLs). METHODS: Demographic data on 108 HIV-infected patients were first recorded by questionnaire from March 2016 to November 2018. Patients' dental health and oral lesions were assessed by a dental specialist; in addition, they were tested for CTCCs and HIV-VLs by flow cytometry and NucliSENS EasyQ® HIV-1 virometer. Finally, the links between CTCC, HIV-VL, and the dental health (including oral lesions) of the patients were analyzed. RESULTS: We found that age, marital status, and body mass index (BMI) were relevant to the patient's dental health (P < 0.05) and that their oral hygiene was relevant to their dental health (P < 0.05). However, HIV-VL was not directly related to periodontal/dental clinical indicators (P > 0.05). We discovered that the oral lesions in HIV-infected patients were related to decreased CTCCs and increased HIV-VLs (P < 0.05). CONCLUSIONS: We concluded that HIV-infected patients with severely impaired immune function tend to have poor dental health. Moreover, the prevalence of oral lesions was negatively correlated with CTCC and positively correlated with HIV-VL.

A new epipolythiodioxopiperazine with antibacterial and cytotoxic activities from the endophytic fungus Chaetomium sp. M336.

A new compound 6-formamide-chetomin (1) together with chetomin (2) was isolated from solid fermentation products of the endophytic fungus Chaetomium sp. M336, which were elucidated by extensive spectroscopic analyses, including 1D and 2D NMR, and HR-ESI-MS experiments. The bioassay result showed that compound 1 had strong antibacterial activity against Escherichia coli, Staphylococcus aureus, Salmonella typhimurium ATCC 6539 and Enterococcus faecalis with minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) value of 0.78 µg/mL; meanwhile it exhibited strong cytotoxicity with IC50 values of 21.6-27.1 nM against cell lines HeLa, SGC-7901 and A549.

Four new steroids from the endophytic fungus Chaetomium sp. M453 derived of Chinese herbal medicine Huperzia serrata.

An endophytic fungus, Chaetomium sp. M453, was isolated from Huperzia serrata (Thunb. ex Murray) Trev. and subjected to phytochemical investigation. Three unusual C25 steroids, neocyclocitrinols E-G (1-3), and 3ß-hydroxy-5,9-epoxy-(22E,24R)-ergosta-7,22-dien-6-one (4) together with three known steroids were isolated from solid fermentation products of the fungus, which were elucidated by extensive spectroscopic analyses, including 1D-, 2D-NMR, and HR-ESI-MS experiments. The absolute configuration of 1 was determined by X-ray crystallographic analysis and CD analyses. The acetylcholinesterase inhibitory activities of compounds 1-4 were tested in vitro. Compound 4 showed weak acetylcholinesterase inhibitory activity.

Pestalotic acids A-I, antibacterial ambuic acid analogues, from a mycoparasite (Pestalotipsis sp. cr014) of Cronartium ribicola.

The white pine blister rust caused by Cronartium ribicola is a severe disease of Pinus armandii Franch in Sichuan Province, China. A mycoparasite was isolated from aeciospore piles of C. ribicola and identified as Pestalotipsis sp. The chemical constituents were investigated and nine new polyketides, named pestalotic acids A-I (1-9), were isolated from solid fermentation products of Pestalotiopsis sp. cr014. Their structures were elucidated by extensive spectroscopic methods, including 1D- and 2D- NMR, HR-MS experiments. Compounds 2-5 and 7-9 exhibited strong antibacterial activities in vitro against five plant pathogens, with minimum inhibitory concentration values of 0.78-100 µg/mL.