Gender-specific differences in salivary biomarker responses to acute psychological stress.

The stress response is regulated by two primary neuroendocrine systems, the hypothalamus-pituitary-adrenocortical (HPA) and sympathetic adrenomedullary (SAM) systems. This study investigated gender differences in the activities of these two systems in response to acute psychological stress. Subjects were categorized according to their score in Spielberger's Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI), which assesses the predisposition to personal anxiety. High (STAI score >or=55)- and low (STAI score

Correlation of haloperidol levels between submandibular saliva and brain in the rat.

OBJECTIVE: The clinical usefulness of therapeutic drug monitoring (TDM) for haloperidol using blood samples has to be validated. Despite the potential advantage of TDM using saliva, there are few reports comparing drug levels in saliva and blood. Additionally, the relation between haloperidol levels in saliva and brain, the target organ of this drug, has not been reported. We compared haloperidol levels in rat submandibular saliva, plasma and brain. DESIGN: Haloperidol was administered through the femoral vein (0.25 mg/kg). Submandibular saliva was collected 30 min after drug administration. To stimulate secretion, the chorda (parasympathetic) and superior cervical ganglion (sympathetic) were electrically stimulated, and pilocarpine was administered. The concentration of haloperidol in saliva, plasma and brain homogenate was determined. RESULTS: Haloperidol levels in saliva elicited by any stimuli significantly correlated with levels in the brain and plasma. The correlation of haloperidol between saliva and brain was higher than that between plasma and brain. Immunohistochemistry showed that haloperidol was secreted from striated duct cells within the submandibular gland. CONCLUSION: These results suggested that haloperidol was specifically secreted from the striated duct system, and that salivary drug levels reflect the levels in the brain more precisely than plasma.

Effect of psychological stress on the salivary cortisol and amylase levels in healthy young adults.

OBJECTIVE: Saliva sampling has the advantage that it is non-invasive, making multiple sampling easy and stress free. We examined the effects of psychological stressor and soother on the salivary cortisol and amylase levels in young adults, and compared the characteristics of these parameters. DESIGN: The subjects completed the trait version of State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI) to assess the predisposition to personal anxiety. The video of corneal transplant surgery was served as the stressor for 15 min. A scenic beauty video viewing was also used as the soother. Unstimulated whole saliva was collected every 3 min throughout the session. RESULTS: The amylase level was significantly increased just after the beginning of the stressful video viewing, and immediately returned to the pre-stress level just after the end of the video viewing. The cortisol level was also increased, but to a lesser extent compared with that of amylase. The latency time to the peak level for cortisol was longer than that of amylase. The carry-over effect was not observed in the amylase response but was in cortisol. Although the correlation between the amylase level and the STAI score was highly significant, cortisol level did not. In addition, soothing video viewing significantly decreased the amylase level, but did not affect the cortisol level. CONCLUSION: Salivary amylase level was more significantly increased and reacted more rapidly than cortisol by psychological stressor, suggesting that it is a better index of stress. Furthermore, it is suggested that the enzyme is a soothing or relaxation index.

Effects of C-reactive protein on CC chemokine receptor 2-mediated chemotaxis of monocytes.

Periodontal infections can increase patients' serum C-reactive protein (CRP) level, which is a predictive marker of future cardiovascular events. Serum CRP may be a key mediator associating periodontitis with cardiovascular disease. It is not yet clarified whether the chemotactic activity of monocytes changes with increased serum CRP. This study investigated the influence of CRP on monocyte chemotaxis and the effects of CRP on CC chemokine receptor 2 (CCR2) expression by monocytes in vitro. Monocyte cell line THP-1 was cultured with human recombinant CRP of different final concentrations, which were 2, 4, 6, 8, and 10 mg/L, respectively. After 24 h incubation, Transwell chambers were applied to analyze the chemotactic activity of pretreated monocytes. Flow cytometry analysis and real-time reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) were applied to detect the CCR2 protein and gene expression levels. In Transwell chambers, more cells were attracted in CRP-pretreated groups than that of blank control with no CRP (p<0.05). The chemotaxis activity was stronger in higher CRP concentration groups than lower ones (p<0.05). The CCR2 protein and mRNA expression was increased in a CRP concentration-dependent manner (p<0.05). CRP stimulation may induce CCR2 overexpression on monocytes and then promote the chemotaxis ability of monocytes. This result suggests that increased serum CRP concentration of periodontitis patients may be associated with high risk of cardiovascular disease.