Virus-like particles of recombinant PCV2b carrying FMDV-VP1 epitopes induce both anti-PCV and anti-FMDV antibody responses.

Mixed infection of porcine circovirus type 2 (PCV2) and foot-and-mouth disease virus (FMDV) is devastating to swine populations. To develop an effective vaccine that can protect the pigs from the infection of PCV2 and FMDV, we used the neutralizing B cell epitope region (aa 135-160) of FMDV to replace the regions aa 123-151 and aa 169-194 of the PCV2b Cap protein to generate a recombinant protein designated as Capfb. The Capfb protein was expressed in Escherichia coli system and the purified Capfb protein assembled into virus-like particles (VLPs) through dialysis. The ability of the Capfb protein to induce effective immune response against FMDV and PCV2b was tested in mice and guinea pigs. The results showed that the Capfb-VLPs could elicit anti-PCV2b and anti-FMDV antibody response in mice and guinea pigs without inducing antibodies against decoy epitope. Moreover, the Capfb-VLPs could enhance the percentage and activation of B cells in lymph nodes when the mice were stimulated with inactivated FMDV or PCV2b. These data suggested that the Capfb-VLPs could be an efficacious candidate antigen for developing a novel PCV2b-FMDV bivalent vaccine.

Correlation of Surface Toll-Like Receptor 9 Expression with IL-17 Production in Neutrophils during Septic Peritonitis in Mice Induced by E. coli.

IL-17 is a proinflammatory cytokine produced by various immune cells. Polymorphonuclear neutrophils (PMNs) are the first line of defense in bacterial infection and express surface Toll-like receptor 9 (sTLR9). To study the relationship of sTLR9 and IL-17 in PMNs during bacterial infection, we infected mice with E. coli intraperitoneally to establish a septic peritonitis model for studying the PMNs response in peritoneal cavity. We found that PMNs and some of "giant cells" were massively accumulated in the peritoneal cavity of mice with fatal septic peritonitis induced by E. coli. Kinetically, the CD11b(+) PMNs were increased from 20-40% at 18 hours to >80% at 72 hours after infection. After E. coli infection, sTLR9 expression on CD11b(+) and CD11b(-) PMNs and macrophages in the PLCs were increased at early stage and deceased at late stage; IL-17 expression was also increased in CD11b(+) PMNs, CD11b(-) PMNs, macrophages, and CD3(+) T cells. Using experiments of in vitro blockage, qRT-PCR and cell sorting, we confirmed that PMNs in the PLCs did increase their IL-17 expression during E. coli infection. Interestingly, sTLR9(-)CD11b(+)Ly6G(+) PMNs, not sTLR9(+)CD11b(+)Ly6G(+) PMNs, were found to be able to increase their IL-17 expression. Together, the data may help understand novel roles of PMNs in septic peritonitis.

Strategies and mechanisms targeting Enterococcus faecalis biofilms associated with endodontic infections: a comprehensive review.

Enterococcus faecalis is one of the main microorganisms that infects root canals, ranking among the most prevalent microorganisms associated with endodontic treatment failure. Given its pervasive presence in persistent endodontic infections, the successful elimination of Enterococcus faecalis is crucial for effective endodontic treatment and retreatment. Furthermore, Enterococcus faecalis can form biofilms - defense structures that microbes use to fight environmental threats. These biofilms confer resistance against host immune system attacks and antibiotic interventions. Consequently, the presence of biofilms poses a significant challenge in the complete eradication of Enterococcus faecalis and its associated disease. In response, numerous scholars have discovered promising outcomes in addressing Enterococcus faecalis biofilms within root canals and undertaken endeavors to explore more efficacious approaches in combating these biofilms. This study provides a comprehensive review of strategies and mechanisms for the removal of Enterococcus faecalis biofilms.

OsWRKY30 is activated by MAP kinases to confer drought tolerance in rice.

Both the WRKY transcription factor (TF) and MAP kinases have been shown to regulate gene expression in response to biotic and abiotic stresses in plants. Several reports have shown that WRKY TFs may function downstream of MAPK cascades. Here, we have shown that OsWRKY30 interacted with OsMPK3, OsMPK4, OsMPK7, OsMPK14, OsMPK20-4, and OsMPK20-5, and could be phosphorylated by OsMPK3, OsMPK7, and OsMPK14. Overexpression of OsWRKY30 in rice dramatically increased drought tolerance. Overexpression of OsWRKY30AA, in which all SP (serine residue followed by proline residue) sites were replaced by AP (A, alanine), resulted in no improvement in drought tolerance. In addition, the function of transcriptional activation of OsWRKY30 was impaired after SP was replaced by AP. These results proved that the phosphorylation of OsWRKY30 by MAPKs was crucial in order for OsWRKY30 to perform its biological function.

Rhodol-derived turn-on fluorescent chemosensor for ultrasensitive detection of nitroreductase activity in bacteria and bioimaging in oral cancer cells.

The detection of intracellular nitroreductase (NTR) activity is important for the study of hypoxia in organisms. In the present study, a Rhodol-derived fluorescent chemosensor (Rhod-NO2) was synthesized in a one-step procedure. Rhod-NO2 exhibits 110-fold fluorescence enhancement in the presence of NTR. Moreover, Rhod-NO2 demonstrates high NTR selectivity and sensitivity (LOD, 0.6 ng/mL). The mode of Rhod-NO2 binding to NTR was also revealed by molecular docking. In addition, the reaction and luminescence mechanisms were evaluated by MS and TDDFT theoretical calculations, respectively. Finally, Rhod-NO2 was successfully applied to monitor NTR production during Escherichia coli (E. coli) growth, and to visually analyze NTR production in malignant oral cancer cells under hypoxia. Thus, Rhod-NO2 represents a new molecular tool to further understanding of the biological function of NTR.

Orthodontic treatment of an adolescent patient with Class II division 1 malocclusion with consideration of growth pattern and occlusal plane: A case report.

Consideration of growth pattern and occlusal plane is critical in orthodontic treatment planning to achieve optimal dentofacial esthetics and long-term stability in adolescent patients, which is illustrated by success in orthodontic treatment of an adolescent Class II division 1 malocclusion with nonextraction.

A highly responsive, sensitive NIR fluorescent probe for imaging of superoxide anion in mitochondria of oral cancer cells.

Superoxide anion (O2•-) is an important biomarker for reactive oxygen species (ROS) generated through physiological and pathological processes. However, due to the short half-life of O2•- and high autofluorescence of cell tissues, in situ real-time tracking and monitoring of endogenous O2•- can be difficult. In this paper, a fluorescent probe IFP-O2 was developed to detect endogenous O2•- in cells. The probe could instantaneously react with O2•- to produce fluorescence off-on effect; its detection limit was as low as 10 nM. Cell experiments also showed that the probe had low toxicity and mitochondrial targeting ability. The article presents, for the first time, a probe that can be employed to measure endogenous O2•- in oral cancer Cal-27 cells and is a promising tool for monitoring and evaluating apoptosis.

Orthodontic treatment of an adult Class II division 1 malocclusion with nonextraction assisted by lip myofunctional training: A case report.

Consideration of facial soft tissue is critical in orthodontic diagnosis and treatment planning to achieve improvement in facial esthetics as well as dental occlusion. As is illustrated by success in orthodontic treatment of an adult Class II division 1 malocclusion with nonextraction and assisted by lip myofunctional training.

One step synthesis of red-emitting fluorescence turn-on probe for nitroreductase and its application to bacterial detection and oral cancer cell imaging.

Nitroreductase (NTR) belongs to a class of flavin mononucleotide-dependent and flavin adenine dinucleotide-dependent cytoplasmic enzymes; its contents in tumor cells increase during hypoxia. The development of fluorescent probes for detection of NTR activity is of great significance for the study of the state of hypoxia in living organisms. In this paper, a red-emitting fluorescence turn-on probe EBI-NO2 was synthesized using a one-step method. The fluorescence of the probe was enhanced by 60 folds in the presence of NTR. The probe also had high selectivity towards NTR, and its detection limit was as low as 1 ng/mL. The reaction mechanism was verified using MS, molecular docking and theoretical calculations. In addition, it was successfully applied in real-time monitoring of NTR produced during growth of Escherichia coli (BL21) and in visualization of NTR in oral cancer cells (Cal-27) under hypoxia. This work provides a new imaging tool that can be applied to investigate the physiological and pathological changes in hypoxia oral cells.

Over-expression of OsDREB genes lead to enhanced drought tolerance in rice.

The DREB transcription factors, which specifically interact with C-repeat/DRE (A/GCCGAC), play an important role in plant abiotic stress tolerance by controlling the expression of many cold or/and drought-inducible genes in an ABA-independent pathway. We have isolated three novel rice DREB genes, OsDREB1E, OsDREB1G, and OsDREB2B, which are homologous to Arabidopsis DREB genes. The yeast one-hybrid assay indicated that OsDREB1E, OsDREB1G, and OsDREB2B can specifically bind to the C-repeat/DRE element. To elucidate the function of respective OsDREB genes, we have stably introduced these to rice by Agrobacterium-mediated transformation. Transgenic rice plants analysis revealed that over-expression of OsDREB1G and OsDREB2B in rice significantly improved their tolerance to water deficit stress, while over-expression of OsDREB1E could only slightly improved the tolerance to water deficit stress, suggesting that the OsDREBs might participate in the stress response pathway in different manners.

The relationship of plasma miR-503 and coronary collateral circulation in patients with coronary artery disease.

OBJECTIVE: Although angiogenesis plays an important role in coronary collateral circulation (CCC) formation and there are many determinants of coronary angiogenesis, they cannot fully explain the mechanism of CCC formation or as potent biomarker for CCC status. Therefore, there is of great clinical significance to identify the novel molecules associated with CCC. Previously, miR-503 exerts anti-angiogenesis effect via inhibition of VEGF-A and its expression is associated with many angiogenesis-related factors. Thus, we aimed to investigate the relationship of plasma miR-503 with CCC formation as well as its predictive power for CCC status in patients with coronary artery disease. METHODS: Among patients who underwent coronary angiography with coronary artery disease and a stenosis of ≥90% were included in our study. Collateral degree was graded according to Rentrop Cohen classification. The patients were divided to good CCC group (grade 2 or 3) and poor CCC group (grade 0 or 1) according to Rentrop grade. We investigated the plasma levels of miR-503 and VEGF-A by ELISA or q RT-PCR, respectively. In addition, we assayed the correlations of plasma miR-503 with VEGF-A or Rentrop grade using the spearman correlation test and its predictive power by receiver operating characteristic (ROC) and binary logistical regression analysis. RESULTS: Our data showed that plasma VEGF-A was significantly higher in good CCC group than that in poor group. Plasma miR-503 was lower in CAD patients with good CCC or poor CCC compared with control subjects and lowest in good CCC group. In addition, miR-503 negatively correlated with VEGF-A and Rentrop grade, respectively. Moreover, miR-503 displayed more potent predictive power for CCC status than VEGF-A, but its sensitivity and specificity for CCC status were only 72.4 or 60.9%, respectively. CONCLUSIONS: Lower plasma miR-503 level was related to better CCC formation, accompanied by up-regulation of VEGF-A. In addition, miR-503 displayed potent predictive power for CCC status, but its sensitivity and specificity were not high enough, indicating that miR-503 might be as an additional prognosis biomarker for CCC.

Anti-glioma effect of intracranial vaccination with tumor cell lysate plus flagellin in mice.

The adjuvant effects of flagellin on regulation of immune response have been proved; whether flagellin could assist tumor cell lysate (TCL) to enhance anti-glioma immunity remains to be investigated. This study tests a hypothesis that therapeuticly intracranial administration with flagellin plus TCL enhances the effects of specific immunotherapy on glioma in mice. In this study, GL261 cells were transferred into C57BL/6 mice and the GL261-bearing mice were subcutaneously or intracranially inoculated with flagellin plus TCL, flagellin, TCL or saline. Our results showed that prophylacticly subcutaneous administration with TCL and flagellin could induce potent cytotoxic T lymphocyte (CTL) and prolong the survival of GL261-bearing mice significantly, but therapeuticly subcutaneous administration failed to. However, therapeuticly intracranial administration of TCL plus flagellin could prolong the survival. Moreover, intracranial administration of flagellin could recruit CD4+ T cells and CD8+ T cells to brain tissues, induce proliferation of natural killer (NK) cells, CD4+ T cells and CD8+ T cells in peripheral blood mononuclear cells and induce to splenomegaly. The results suggested that flagellin could be acted as an efficient adjuvant for TCL based vaccine.

The relationship of plasma decoy receptor 3 and coronary collateral circulation in patients with coronary artery disease.

OBJECTIVE: Previously, decoy receptor 3 (DcR3) was found to be a potential angiogenetic factor, while the relationship of DcR3 with coronary collateral circulation formation has not been investigated. In this study, we aimed to investigate whether plasma decoy receptor 3 levels was associated with CCC formation and evaluate its predictive power for CCC status in patients with coronary artery disease. METHODS: Among patients who underwent coronary angiography with coronary artery disease and had a stenosis of ≥90% were included in our study. Collateral degree was graded according to Rentrope Cohen classification. Patients with grade 2 or 3 collateral degree were enrolled in good CCC group and patients with grade 0 or 1 collateral degree were enrolled in poor CCC group. RESULTS: Plasma DcR3 level was significantly higher in good CCC group (328.00±230.82 vs 194.84±130.63ng/l, p<0.01) and positively correlated with Rentrope grade (p<0.01). In addition, plasma DcR3 was also positively correlated with VEGF-A. Both ROC (receiver operating characteristic curve) and multinomial logistical regression analysis showed that plasma DcR3 displayed potent predictive power for CCC status. CONCLUSIONS: Higher plasma DcR3 level was related to better CCC formation and displayed potent predictive power for CCC status.

Protective role of surface Toll-like receptor 9 expressing neutrophils in local inflammation during systemic inflammatory response syndrome in mice.

Clinically, systemic inflammatory response syndrome (SIRS) occurs after serious trauma or sepsis. In sepsis, neutrophils are the major effector cells responsible for eliminating pathogens. However, the role of neutrophils in development of SIRS, especially in local inflammatory area, is controversial. In this study, we established a SIRS mouse model characterized with cytokine-mediated lethal shock by intraperitoneal injection of oligodexynucleotides containing CpG motifs (CpG ODN) in D-galactosamine (D-GalN) sensitized mice based on our previous work and found that abundant neutrophils were rapidly recruited into the peritoneal cavity, where some neutrophils expressed surface TLR9 (sTLR9), defined as sTLR9+ neutrophils. Along with the progression of SIRS, the expression of sTLR9 in sTLR9+ neutrophils isolated from peritoneal lavage cells (PLCs) was declined in accompany with an increase in the level of the inflammatory cytokine TNFα and a decrease in the level of the anti-inflammatory cytokine IL-10 in Ly6G+ PLCs. When using CCT ODN, an oligodeoxynucleotide with CCT repeats, which we have previously shown to be capable of rescuing mice from lethal shock, the expression of sTLR9 on neutrophils was significantly elevated. Adoptive therapy using early recruited neutrophil-rich PLCs containing sTLR9+ neutrophils that express high levels of sTLR9, could rescue mice from SIRS. Overall, the data reveal that the early recruited sTLR9+ neutrophils may, at least in the area of local inflammation, play a protective role during SIRS development and provide a method to rescue the patients with severe SIRS via the up-regulation of sTLR9 levels on the surface of neutrophils or via adoptive therapy with protective sub-populations of neutrophils.

Attribution of NKG2DL to the inhibition of early stage allogeneic tumors in mice.

Allogeneic tumors are eventually rejected by adaptive immune responses, however, little is known about how allogeneic tumors are eradicated at the early stage of tumor development. In present study, we found that NKG2DL low expressing cancer cells were developed into palpable allogeneic tumors in mice within a week after the inoculation, while NKG2DL high expressing cancer cells failed to. The NKG2DL high expressing cancer cells could increase NKG2D+ NK cells in the allogeneic mice after being inoculated for 3 days. Artificially up-regulating NKG2DL on cancer cells with low level expressed NKG2DL by a CpG ODN resulted in the retardation and rejection of the allogeneic tumors at the early stage. The contribution of up-regulated NKG2DL to the early rejection was further confirmed by the results that the development of allogeneic tumors from cancer cells transfected with NKG2DL genes was significantly inhibited in mice at the early stage. Overall, hopefully, the data may provide insights for combining the allogeneic NK cell adoptive transfer with the approaches of up-regulating NKG2DL to treat cancer patients.

The therapeutic potency of HSP65-GTL in GL261 glioma-bearing mice.

Gliomas are the most common type of brain tumor with poor prognosis. Even after combination treatments including surgery, radiation, and chemotherapy, the median survival is around 15 months, calling for novel approaches such as immunotherapy. To develop novel therapeutic approaches, we tried to prepare a candidate vaccine by mixing the recombinant mycobacterial heat-shock protein 65 (HSP65) with GL261 glioma tissue lysate (GTL). Our data showed that HSP65-GTL induced potent cytotoxic T lymphocyte and prolonged the survival of mice bearing GL261 gliomas. Furthermore, HSP65 or HSP65-GTL upregulated mRNA expressions of RORγt and interleukin-17A in spleen cells or draining lymph node cells, respectively, and enhanced the ratios of brain-infiltrating Th17 cells and inflammatory cells, indicating that the antitumor effect of HSP65-GTL was associated with Th17-type immunity.

Compressive force regulates ephrinB2 and EphB4 in osteoblasts and osteoclasts contributing to alveolar bone resorption during experimental tooth movement.

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the involvement of ephrinB2 in periodontal tissue remodeling in compression areas during orthodontic tooth movement and the effects of compressive force on EphB4 and ephrinB2 expression in osteoblasts and osteoclasts. METHODS: A rat model of experimental tooth movement was established to examine the histological changes and the localization of ephrinB2 in compressed periodontal tissues during experimental tooth movement. RAW264.7 cells and ST2 cells, used as precursor cells of osteoclasts and osteoblasts, respectively, were subjected to compressive force in vitro. The gene expression of EphB4 and ephrinB2, as well as bone-associated factors including Runx2, Sp7, NFATc1, and calcitonin receptor, were examined by quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (PCR). RESULTS: Histological examination of the compression areas of alveolar bone from experimental rats showed that osteoclastogenic activities were promoted while osteogenic activities were inhibited. Immunohistochemistry revealed that ephrinB2 was strongly expressed in osteoclasts in these areas. Quantitative real-time PCR showed that mRNA levels of NFATc1, calcitonin receptor, and ephrinB2 were increased significantly in compressed RAW264.7 cells, and the expression of ephrinB2, EphB4, Sp7, and Runx2 was decreased significantly in compressed ST2 cells. CONCLUSIONS: Our results indicate that compressive force can regulate EphB4 and ephrinB2 expression in osteoblasts and osteoclasts, which might contribute to alveolar bone resorption in compression areas during orthodontic tooth movement.