Does computed tomographic assessment of inferior alveolar canal cortical integrity predict nerve exposure during third molar surgery?

PURPOSE: To evaluate the association between computed tomographic (CT) assessment of inferior alveolar nerve (IAN) canal cortical integrity and intraoperative IAN exposure. MATERIALS AND METHODS: This was a retrospective cohort study. The study sample included patients considered at high risk for IAN injury based on panoramic findings. The primary predictor variable was IAN canal integrity (intact or interrupted) assessed on coronal CT images. The secondary predictor variable was length of the cortical defect, in millimeters. The primary outcome variable was intraoperative visualization of the IAN. Other variables were demographic and operative parameters. Bivariate and multiple logistic regression analyses were used to evaluate the unadjusted and adjusted associations between the cortical integrity and IAN exposure. Diagnostic test characteristics were computed for cortical integrity and threshold cortical defect size. A P value < or = 0.05 was statistically significant. RESULTS: The sample consisted of 51 subjects (57% female) with a mean age of 35.2 +/- 12.8 years. Of the 80 third molars available for evaluation, 52 third molars (64.1%) had evidence of loss of cortical integrity. The mean cortical defect length was 2.9 +/- 2.6 mm. Loss of cortical integrity had a high sensitivity (> or = 0.88) but low specificity (< or = 0.49) as a diagnostic test for IAN visualization. A cortical defect size > or = 3 mm was associated with an increased risk for intraoperative IAN visualization with a high sensitivity and specificity (> or = 0.82). CONCLUSION: Cortical defect size on a maxillofacial CT has a high sensitivity and specificity for predicting intraoperative IAN exposure during third molar removal.

Rapid loss of dendritic cell and monocyte responses to TLR ligands following venipuncture.

Blood samples from multiple sites are collected in multicenter trials, and frequently shipped to centralized laboratories for processing and comparable experimental evaluation. It is therefore of crucial interest to assess the preservation of immune cell functions after overnight shipment of whole blood. Here we evaluated the ability of pDCs, mDCs and monocytes to respond to TLR ligands at multiple timepoints following venipuncture as compared to immediate processing. Our results demonstrate a profound impairment of APC function, in particular of IFN-alpha production of pDCs, if whole blood was processed later than 6 h after venipuncture. Overnight shipment or extended rest of whole blood before processing therefore severely compromises the ability of APCs to respond to TLR ligands, and this has to be taken into consideration when designing multicenter trials.

Sex differences in the Toll-like receptor-mediated response of plasmacytoid dendritic cells to HIV-1.

Manifestations of viral infections can differ between women and men, and marked sex differences have been described in the course of HIV-1 disease. HIV-1-infected women tend to have lower viral loads early in HIV-1 infection but progress faster to AIDS for a given viral load than men. Here we show substantial sex differences in the response of plasmacytoid dendritic cells (pDCs) to HIV-1. pDCs derived from women produce markedly more interferon-alpha (IFN-alpha) in response to HIV-1-encoded Toll-like receptor 7 (TLR7) ligands than pDCs derived from men, resulting in stronger secondary activation of CD8(+) T cells. In line with these in vitro studies, treatment-naive women chronically infected with HIV-1 had considerably higher levels of CD8(+) T cell activation than men after adjusting for viral load. These data show that sex differences in TLR-mediated activation of pDCs may account for higher immune activation in women compared to men at a given HIV-1 viral load and provide a mechanism by which the same level of viral replication might result in faster HIV-1 disease progression in women compared to men. Modulation of the TLR7 pathway in pDCs may therefore represent a new approach to reduce HIV-1-associated pathology.

Upregulation of PD-L1 on monocytes and dendritic cells by HIV-1 derived TLR ligands.

Increased PD-L1 expression has been reported in HIV-1-infected individuals, but the mechanisms leading to PD-L1 upregulation remain to be elucidated. Here we demonstrate that HIV-1-derived Toll-like receptor (TLR)7/8 ligands can induce MyD88-dependent upregulation of PD-L1 on plasmacytoid dendritic cells, myeloidic dendritic cells and monocytes. These data suggest a mechanism through which HIV-1-derived TLR ligands might contribute to the functional impairment of virus-specific PD-1-positive T cells by inducing the upregulation of PD-L1 on antigen-presenting cells.

Recognition of a defined region within p24 gag by CD8+ T cells during primary human immunodeficiency virus type 1 infection in individuals expressing protective HLA class I alleles.

Human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1)-specific immune responses during primary HIV-1 infection appear to play a critical role in determining the ultimate speed of disease progression, but little is known about the specificity of the initial HIV-1-specific CD8(+) T-cell responses in individuals expressing protective HLA class I alleles. Here we compared HIV-1-specific T-cell responses between subjects expressing the protective allele HLA-B27 or -B57 and subjects expressing nonprotective HLA alleles using a cohort of over 290 subjects identified during primary HIV-1 infection. CD8(+) T cells of individuals expressing HLA-B27 or -B57 targeted a defined region within HIV-1 p24 Gag (amino acids 240 to 272) early in infection, and responses against this region contributed over 35% to the total HIV-1-specific T-cell responses in these individuals. In contrast, this region was rarely recognized in individuals expressing HLA-B35, an HLA allele associated with rapid disease progression, or in subjects expressing neither HLA-B57/B27 nor HLA-B35 (P < 0.0001). The identification of this highly conserved region in p24 Gag targeted in primary infection specifically in individuals expressing HLA class I alleles associated with slower HIV-1 disease progression provides a rationale for vaccine design aimed at inducing responses to this region restricted by other, more common HLA class I alleles.