The number of microvascular complications is associated with an increased risk for severity of periodontitis in type 2 diabetes patients: Results of a multicenter hospital-based cross-sectional study.

AIMS/INTRODUCTION: To explore the relationships between periodontitis and microvascular complications as well as glycemic control in type 2 diabetes patients. MATERIALS AND METHODS: This multicenter, hospital-based, cross-sectional study included 620 patients with type 2 diabetes. We compared the prevalence and severity of periodontitis between patients with ≥1 microvascular complication and those without microvascular complications. We also compared the prevalence and severity of periodontitis among patients with different degrees of glycemic control. RESULTS: After adjusting for confounding factors, multiple logistic regression analysis showed that the severity of periodontitis was significantly associated with the number of microvascular complications (odds ratio 1.3, 95% confidence interval 1.1-1.6), glycated hemoglobin ≥8.0% (64 mmol/mol; odds ratio 1.6; 95% confidence interval 1.1-2.3), and older age (≥50 years; odds ratio 1.7; 95% confidence interval 1.1-2.6). However, the prevalence of periodontitis was not significantly associated with the number of microvascular complications, but was associated with male sex, high glycated hemoglobin (≥8.0% [64 mmol/mol]), older age (≥40 years), longer duration of diabetes (≥15 years) and fewer teeth (≤25). Furthermore, propensity score matching for age, sex, diabetes duration and glycated hemoglobin showed that the incidence of severe periodontitis was significantly higher among patients with microvascular complications than among those without microvascular complications (P < 0.05). CONCLUSIONS: The number of microvascular complications is a risk factor for more severe periodontitis in patients with type 2 diabetes, whereas poor glycemic control is a risk factor for increased prevalence and severity of periodontitis.

The intrarenal blood flow distribution and role of nitric oxide in diabetic rats.

A few attempts have so far been made to determine the regional renal blood flow distribution in experimental diabetic rats. In the present experiment, 3 weeks after successful streptozotocin injection in diabetic rats (n = 8), the blood flows in the renal superficial and deep cortexes and outer medulla with implanted fibers were measured by laser-Doppler techniques. Renal blood flow was measured by an ultrasonic flow probe placed around the renal artery. Studies were performed at the baseline condition, during the administration of nonselective nitric oxide synthesis inhibitor, nitro- l -arginine methyl-ester ( l -NAME), and during the postinfusion period. The results showed that superficial cortical blood flow and deep cortical blood flow were significantly greater ( P < .05) in diabetic rats compared with control rats (n = 8) (superficial cortical blood flow, 2.18 +/- 0.22 vs 1.55 +/- 0.21 V; deep cortical blood flow, 1.32 +/- 0.13 vs 0.99 +/- 0.14 V) with the significant increase in renal blood flow (18.1 +/- 3.3 vs 14.5 +/- 2.7 mL/min). Furthermore, it was shown that in diabetic rats the intravenous infusion of a low dose of l -NAME, which did not alter medullary blood flow, decreased cortical blood flow (CBF) ( P < .05), whereas in control rats l -NAME did not affect CBF but a high dose of l -NAME decreased medullary blood flow ( P < .05). We conclude that in early diabetic nephropathy the blood flow is increased in both the superficial and deep cortexes, and nitric oxide plays an important role in regulating the CBF during the development of diabetic nephropathy.

Role of protein kinase C-angiotensin II pathway for extracellular matrix production in cultured human mesangial cells exposed to high glucose levels.

The intrarenal renin-angiotensin system has been implicated in the pathogenesis of diabetic nephropathy. This study investigates the mechanisms for glucose-induced increase in angiotensin II (AII) production by human mesangial cells (MCs) in relation to protein kinase C (PKC). We also examine whether locally produced AII mediates extracellular matrix protein production in high-glucose conditions. Human MCs were cultured in 5 or 33 mmol/l glucose for 8 days, and were incubated with or without 5 mmol/l GFX, a PKC inhibitor, 0.1 micromol/l candesartan cilexetil (CC), a specific type 1 AII receptor antagonist, for another 24 h. In addition, MCs grown in 5 mmol/l glucose were incubated with 0.1 micromol/l phorbol-12,13-dibutyrate (PDBu) for 24 h. AII, TGF-beta1, fibronectin and type IV collagen in the culture media were measured by ELISA. The amount of AII secreted from MCs exposed to high-glucose levels was significantly greater (P<0.01) than that in normal glucose levels. The increase in AII production was completely prevented by GFX. The addition of PDBu mimicked the effect of glucose on AII production. The glucose-induced increases in the production of TGF-beta1, fibronectin and type IV collagen were partially, but significantly restored (P<0.01) by CC, while GFX totally abolished these effects of glucose. These results suggest that elevated glucose levels stimulate AII production via mechanisms dependent on glucose-induced PKC activation in human MCs, and that locally produced AII partly mediates the increase in mesangial matrix synthesis in high-glucose conditions.

Transforming growth factor-beta-1 latency-associated peptide and soluble betaglycan prevent a glucose-induced increase in fibronectin production in cultured human mesangial cells.

This study was performed to investigate the effects of transforming growth factor-beta1 (TGF-beta1) latency-associated peptide (LAP) and betaglycan on TGF-beta1 activity, and on the glucose-induced overproduction of fibronectin in cultured human mesangial cells (MCs). We found that recombinant LAP and recombinant soluble betaglycan decrease the active form of TGF-beta1, measured by ELISA, in a dose-dependent manner in a cell-free system. The effective dosages of LAP and soluble betaglycan for a 50% reduction were approximately 20- and 75-fold of the TGF-beta1 concentration, respectively. The active form of TGF-beta1 in the media secreted from MCs was significantly (p < 0.01) reduced by the addition of 10 nmol/l LAP and 10 nmol/l soluble betaglycan with no significant change in total (active + latent) TGF-beta1. Recombinant LAP and soluble betaglycan also inhibited a recombinant TGF-beta1-stimulated increase in fibronectin production in MCs. Furthermore, the glucose-induced increase in fibronectin secreted from MCs was significantly (p < 0.01) suppressed by concomitant incubation with LAP or soluble betaglycan, while these agents had no effect on fibronectin production under physiological glucose concentrations. These results indicate that recombinant LAP and soluble betaglycan suppress the glucose-induced overproduction of fibronectin presumably via inhibition of TGF-beta1 activity in MCs. Further in vivo studies are needed to define the possible beneficial effects of these agents in diabetic nephropathy.