Potent inhibitory effects of D-tagatose on the acid production and water-insoluble glucan synthesis of Streptococcus mutans GS5 in the presence of sucrose.

We examined and compared the inhibitory effects of D-tagatose on the growth, acid production, and water-insoluble glucan synthesis of GS5, a bacterial strain of Streptococcus mutans, with those of xylitol, D-psicose, L-psicose and L-tagatose. GS5 was cultured for 12h in a medium containing 10% (w/v) of xylitol, D-psicose, L-psicose, D-tagatose or L-tagatose, and the inhibitory effect of GS5 growth was assessed. Each sugar showed different inhibitory effects on GS5. Both D-tagatose and xylitol significantly inhibited the acid production and water-insoluble glucan synthesis of GS5 in the presence of 1% (w/v) sucrose. However, the inhibitory effect of acid production by D-tagatose was significantly stronger than that of xylitol in presence of sucrose.

Association of interleukin-10 promoter single nucleotide polymorphisms -819 T/C and -592 A/C with aging.

Increased inflammatory activity is known to accompany aging. Single nucleotide polymorphisms of inflammatory mediator genes might therefore affect the aging process. Relation of eight SNPs (tumor necrosis factor-alpha [TNF-alpha] -1031 T/C, interleukin-10 [IL-10] -819 T/C, IL-1beta -511 C/T, IL-6 -634 C/G, IL-18 -607 A/C, transforming growth factor-beta [TGF-beta] +869 C/T, matrix metalloproteinase-1 [MMP-1] -1607 1G/2G, and MMP-3 -1171 5A/6A) with age or gender was evaluated in 500 Japanese persons (mean age: 56.7 years old, range: 19-100) by the chi-square test. There was a significant association of IL-10 -819 T/C with age (p =.0026). The association remained significant after multivariate logistic regression analysis (odds ratio for an age interval for 1 year, 1.009; 95% CI, 1.002-1.016). Furthermore, the genotype distribution of IL-10 -819 T/C was completely consistent with that of -592 A/C. These data suggest that IL-10 -819 T/C and -592 A/C may be a promising candidate for an aging-related gene in a Japanese population.

Association of the OGG1 Ser326Cys polymorphism with tooth loss.

Although tooth loss is a serious health problem for elderly people, little is known about the genetic basis for susceptibility to it. In the present study we aimed to find a single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) associated with tooth loss. DNA samples from 119 outpatients (mean age=78.8 years) were genotyped on seven polymorphisms (tumor necrosis factor-alpha -1031T/C, interleukin-1beta -511C/T, interleukin-6 -634C/G, macrophage migration inhibitory factor -173G/C, interleukin-1 receptor antagonist variable number of tandem repeat in intron 2, matrix metalloproteinase-1 -16071G/2G, and oxoguanine glycosylase 1 (OGG1) Ser326Cys (1245C/G)), and the results were statistically evaluated. Of the seven polymorphisms tested, only OGG1 Ser326Cys was revealed to associate with tooth loss at a statistically significant level (P=0.0086). In addition, a multivariate logistic regression analysis in which age, gender, body mass index (BMI), and ischemic heart disease were included as independent variables indicated that Ser326Cys could be an independent factor affecting tooth loss (OR, 3.191; 95%CI, 1.174-8.672). The data suggest that the OGG1 Ser326Cys polymorphism may be associated with tooth loss.