Detection of human papillomavirus infection in oral cancers reported at dental facility: assessing the utility of FFPE tissues.

Incidence of human papillomavirus (HPV)-associated oral cancers is on the rise. However, epidemiological data of this subset of cancers are limited. Dental hospital poses a unique advantage in detection of HPV-positive oral malignancies. We assessed the utility of formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded (FFPE) tissues, which are readily available, for evaluation of high-risk HPV infection in oral cancer. For protocol standardization, we used 20 prospectively collected paired FFPE and fresh tissues of histopathologically confirmed oral cancer cases reported in Oral Medicine department of a dental hospital for comparative study. Only short PCRs (~ 200 bp) of DNA isolated using a modified xylene-free method displayed a concordant HPV result. For HPV analysis, we used additional 30 retrospectively collected FFPE tissues. DNA isolated from these specimens showed an overall 23.4% (11/47) HPV positivity with detection of HPV18. Comparison of HPV positivity from dental hospital FFPE specimens with overall HPV positivity of freshly collected oral cancer specimens (n = 55) from three cancer care hospitals of the same region showed notable difference (12.7%; 7/55). Further, cancer hospital specimens showed HPV16 positivity and displayed a characteristic difference in reported sub-sites and patient spectrum. Overall, using a xylene-free FFPE DNA isolation method clubbed with short amplicon PCR, we showed detection of HPV-positive oral cancer in dental hospitals.

Reduction of cadmium toxicity in wheat through plasma technology.

Cadmium (Cd) contamination in plant-derived food is a big concern. This study examines whether and how Ar/O2 and Ar/Air plasma techniques lead to Cd detoxification in wheat. Treatment with Ar/O2 and Ar/Air changed the seed surface and decreased the pH of seeds as well as the cultivation media. Generally, plants subjected to Cd treatment from seeds treated with Ar/O2and Ar/Air plasma showed considerable progress in morphology and total chlorophyll synthesis compared to Cd-treated wheat, suggesting that plasma technology is effective for Cd detoxification. Furthermore, Ar/O2 and Ar/Air plasma treated plants showed a significant decrease in root and shoot Cd concentration, which is consistent with the reduced expression of Cd transporters in the root (TaLCT1 and TaHMA2) compared with the plants not treated with plasma in response to Cd stress. This Cd inhibition is possibly accomplished by the decrease of pH reducing the bioavailability of Cd in the rhizosphere. These observations are in line with maintenance of total soluble protein along with reduced electrolyte leakage and cell death (%) in root and shoot due to Ar/O2 and Ar/Air treatments. Further, Cd-induced elevated H2O2 or oxidative damage in tissues was mainly diminished through the upregulation of antioxidant enzymes (SOD and CAT) and their corresponding genes (TaSOD and TaCAT) induced by Ar/O2 and Ar/Air plasma. Grafting results suggest that root originating nitric oxide signal possibly drives the mechanisms of Cd detoxification due to plasma treatment in wheat. These findings provide a novel and eco-friendly use of plasma technology for the mitigation of Cd toxicity in wheat plants.