Association between DEFB1 polymorphisms and periodontitis: a meta-analysis.

Previous studies showed that DEFB1 gene polymorphisms may impact the development and progression of periodontitis; nevertheless, inconsistent conclusions were described. This study meta-analytically explored the association between periodontitis the DEFB1 gene polymorphisms and periodontitis. We searched PubMed, Embase, Springer and Cochrane Library for the relevant case-control studies of periodontitis up to February 13th, 2019. Two reviewers selected studies according to the predefined inclusion and exclusion criteria. Newcastle-Ottawa Scale (NOS) was used to assess the quality of studies, and the combined effect size was calculated using R 3.12 software. A total of 9 studies involving 4113 patients and 2373 controls were included. Meta-analysis of DEFB1-G1654A gene polymorphisms showed that there were significant differences in model A vs. G (OR = 3.7876, 95%CI = 2.9051-4.9382, P < 0.001), AA vs. GG (OR = 4.6743, 95%CI = 3.0900-7.0710, P < 0.001), AA vs.GG + AG (OR = 3.5131, 95%CI = 2.4496-5.0384, P < 0.001), AA + AG vs. GG (OR = 4.3087, 95%CI = 2.8827-6.4402, P < 0.001) and AG vs. GG (OR = 3.0639, 95%CI = 1.6804-5.5863, P = 0.003). However, no significant differences were found between DEFB1 rs11362, rs1799946 and rs1800972 and periodontitis. Sensitivity analysis implied that our results were robust and no publication bias was noticed. Our meta-analysis showed that the DEFB1-G1654A polymorphism may be a genetic susceptibility factor for periodontitis.

Dental implant restoration for dentition defects improves clinical efficacy, masticatory function and patient comfort.

OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study is to demonstrate if dental implant restoration can improve the clinical efficacy, masticatory function and comfort in patients with dentition defects. METHODS: The clinical data of 90 patients with single tooth loss treated in Yuyao People's Hospital of Zhejiang Province from May 2018 to May 2020 were analyzed retrospectively. The patients were enrolled and divided into two groups. The control group (CG; n=45) was intervened by traditional fixed partial denture (FPD) restoration, and the observation group (OG; n=45) was treated with dental implant restoration. The clinical efficacy was evaluated, and amelioration of tooth-related indexes and clinical indicators 2 years after treatment were observed. The improvement of masticatory function and comfort scores were compared. The adverse reactions during treatment were recorded, and patients' satisfaction with the treatment was calculated. Logistic regression was performed to assess the independent risk factors for inefficacy of the treatments. RESULTS: After treatment, the OG presented with lower gingival index, plaque index and sulcus bleeding index.

Discovery of phenyl-linked symmetric small molecules as inhibitors of the programmed cell death-1/programmed cell death-ligand 1 interaction.

Programmed cell death-1/programmed cell death ligand 1 (PD-1/PD-L1) is one of the most promising targets in the field of immune checkpoint blockade therapy. Beginning with our exploration of linkers and structure-activity relationship research, we found that the aromatic ring could replace the linker and aryl group to maintain the satisfactory activity of classic triaryl scaffold inhibitor. Based on previous studies, we designed and synthesized a series of C2-symmetric phenyl-linked compounds, and further tail optimization afforded the inhibitors, which displayed promising inhibitory activity against the PD-1/PD-L1 interaction with IC50 value at the single nanomolar range (C13-C15). Further cell-based PD-1/PD-L1 blockade bioassays indicated that these C2-symmetric molecules could significantly inhibit the PD-1/PD-L1 interaction at the cellular level and restore T cells' immune function at the safety concentrations. The discovery of these phenyl-linked symmetric small molecules showed the potential of simplified-linker and C2-symmetric strategy and provided a basis for developing symmetric small molecule inhibitors of PD-1/PD-L1 interaction. Moreover, C13 and C15 performed stable binding modes to PD-L1 dimeric after computational docking and dynamic simulation, which may serve as a good starting point for further development.

Bilateral coronoid hyperplasia (Jacob disease on right and elongation on left): report of a case and literature review.

A case is reported of bilateral coronoid hyperplasia. The literature is reviewed concerning this condition's etiology, pathogenesis, clinical characteristics, diagnosis, and treatment. Jacob disease and coronoid elongation are both clinical features of coronoid hyperplasia. It is usually accompanied by restricted opening. The etiology and pathogenesis of coronoid hyperplasia are unclear. The condition can be diagnosed by panoramic radiographs and with 3-dimensional reconstructions from computerized tomography image data sets. Hyperplasia of the coronoid processes can be treated using an intraoral approach for coronoidectomy and dynamic laser physiotherapy after surgery. Although hyperplasia of the coronoid processes is uncommon in clinic, it can be found through careful examination and proper radiographic study. A 39-year-old female patient was referred for coronoid hyperplasia (Jacob disease on right and elongation on left). The histologic diagnosis for the right condylar condition was osteochondroma.