Salivary human beta-defensins affected by oral Candida status in Chinese HIV/AIDS patients undergoing ART.

OBJECTIVES: To observe relationships between oral Candida status and salivary human beta-defensin 2 and 3 (hBD-2 and hBD-3) levels in HIV/AIDS patients of Guangxi, China during the first year of antiretroviral therapy (ART) dynamically, and to understand the influence of ART on oral Candida status and salivary hBDs expressions. METHODS: A prospective self-controlled study was carried to observe the dynamic changes of CD4+ T cell counts, oral Candida carriages and salivary hBD-2,3 expressions in HIV/AIDS patients during the first year of ART. A total of 90 HIV/AIDS patients were enrolled and were examined at the baseline, 3rd, 6th, 12th month of ART. Thirty healthy individuals were enrolled as control. Peripheral blood, oral rinse sample, and unstimulated whole saliva were collected to test CD4+ T cell counts, oral Candida carriages, and hBD-2,3 expressions. RESULTS: In the first year of ART, CD4+ T cell counts increased significantly. However, oral Candida carriages and oral candidiasis decreased significantly, and salivary hBD-2 expressions in HIV/AIDS patients decreased gradually, salivary hBD-3 levels were highly variable. Salivary hBD-2 concentrations were positively related to oral Candida carriages. CONCLUSIONS: The incidence of oral candidiasis among HIV/AIDS patients gradually decreased due to the immune reconstruction of ART. Salivary defensins might play an important role in Candida-host interaction in HIV/AIDS patients.

Periodontopathogens and human ß-defensin-2 expression in gingival crevicular fluid from patients with periodontal disease in Guangxi, China.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE: Periodontal diseases are often induced by periodontopathogens, which are always exposed to certain innate immune factors in gingival crevicular fluid, including human ß-defensin-2 (hBD-2). This study aims to investigate the relationship among periodontopathogens, clinical parameters and hBD-2 expression. MATERIAL AND METHODS: Thirty-two healthy controls, 42 patients with chronic gingivitis and 95 patients with chronic periodontitis were recruited in Guangxi, China. Bleeding index, probing depth and clinical attachment level were measured for all teeth including mesiobuccal, buccal, disobuccal, mesiolingual, lingual, disolingual six sites of all patient. Gingival crevicular fluid samples were collected from the study sites. The prevalence and copy numbers (CN) of Aggregatibacter actinomycetemcomitans, Porphyromonas gingivalis, Prevotella intermedia, Treponema denticola, Tannerella forsythia and total bacteria in gingival crevicular fluid were quantified by real-time PCR. The hBD-2 concentration in gingival crevicular fluid was measured by ELISA. RESULTS: Both the prevalence and the CN of A. actinomycetemcomitans, P. gingivalis, T. denticola and T. forsythia were higher in patients with chronic periodontitis than in healthy controls and patients with chronic gingivitis; however, there was no significant difference in the prevalence of P. intermedia among the three study groups, and the highest CN was found in patients with chronic gingivitis, rather than in patients with chronic periodontitis. The loads of P. gingivalis, P. intermedia, T. denticola and total bacteria were positively related to probing depth, bleeding index and clinical attachment level. The concentration of hBD-2 in gingival crevicular fluid was higher in patients with chronic gingivitis and in patients with chronic periodontitis than in healthy controls. In addition, the hBD-2 concentration was positively related to the CN of P. gingivalis, T. forsythia and total bacteria, as well as to bleeding index and probing depth. CONCLUSION: The prevalence, composition and CN of periodontopathogens were closely related to the severity of periodontal disease, and the red complex was related to the severity of clinical symptoms of periodontal diseases. The concentration of hBD-2 in gingival crevicular fluid from periodontal disease sites was higher than that in gingival crevicular fluid from healthy sites, which suggests that hBD-2 expression might be up-regulated by periodontopathogens.

[Research progress in N6-methyladenosine modification in the field of stomatology].

N6-methyladenosine (m6A) is the most abundant and widely distributed internal RNA modification in eukaryotic cells, and it is involved in the regulation of gene expression and biological processes in many cells. In recent years, studies on the role of m6A modification in oral cavity have emerged gradually. Existing researches show that m6A-related proteins are involved in the regulation of oral squamous cell carcinoma and its resistance to therapy. Methyltransferase-like 3 regulates apoptosis and autophagy of chondrocytes in inflammation, the angiogenesis and osteogenesis during distraction osteogenesis of endothelial progenitor cells, inflammatory response of dental pulp cells, the differentiation and osteogenesis of dental pulp stem cells, the development of tooth roots and the differentiation of bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells and so on. Moreover, m6A modification may also be related to the occurrence and development of periodontitis, oral ulcers and oral submucosal fibrosis. These studies have provided new ideas for the pathogenesis of various oral diseases and the diagnosis and treatment of oral bone tissue repair and regeneration. This paper reviews the recent research progress on the role of m6A modification in the field of stomatology and summarize the current research status of m6A in the field of stomatology, in order to provide reference for the further research of m6A function and mechanism in the field of stomatology.

[Investigation of sagittal root position in relation to the anterior maxillary alveolar bone: a cone-beam CT study in 300 cases with normal occlusion].

Objective: To investigate the sagittal root position and apical bone height of the maxillary anterior teeth in order to provide anatomical information for immediate implant placement in the esthetic region. Methods: Cone-beam CT (CBCT) data from 300 randomly selected patients who met the inclusion criteria were included in this study. After three-dimensional reconstruction, the sagittal plane (the sagittal plane through the long axis of the tooth) was determined. The positions and angulations of the tooth roots were classified with reference to the alveolar process. By comparing the buccal and palatal bone thickness at the mid-root level, the toot positions with reference to the mid-alveolar line were defined and classified as follows, type B (closer to the buccal alveolar surface), type M (midway between the buccal and palatal alveolar surface) and type P (closer to the palatal alveolar surface). By comparing the angulations of the alveolar process with the long axis of the roots, the angulations were classified as follows, type 1 (root apex angulated toward the palatal side or parallel to the alveolus), type 2 (root apex angulated toward the buccal side with the long axis passing posterior to point A) and type 3 (root apex angulated toward the buccal side with the long axis passing anterior to point A). The frequency of each category was counted and the apical bone height was measured. The subjects were divided into three age groups, 19-30 years, 31-50 years and 51-75 years. Results: The overall mean apical bone height of the healthy maxillary central incisors was (9.2±3.0) mm, the lateral incisors was (10.0±2.9) mm and the canine was (8.1±3.1) mm. There was no significant difference in the height of apical bone between central incisors and lateral incisors (P>0.05). There was no significant difference in the height of apical bone between male and female (P>0.05). The height of apical bone in group 31-50 years and 51-75 years were greater than that in group 19-30 years (P<0.05), respectively. The proportion of the maxillary anterior teeth type B, M, P was 98.5% (1 774/1 800), 0.3% (5/1 800) and 1.2% (21/1 800) respectively. The proportion of type 1, 2, 3 was 2.6% (46/1 800), 58.6% (1 055/1 800) and 38.8% (699/1 800) respectively. Conclusions: There was enough apical bone height in the area of maxillary anterior teeth, but the majority of roots positioned more buccally.

Survival time comparison between Hawley and clear overlay retainers: a randomized trial.

The objectives of this study were to compare the survival time of the Hawley retainer (HR) and the clear overlay retainer (COR) over one-year follow-up and to analyze risk factors contributing to their breakage. In this randomized, controlled clinical trial, we assigned 120 adolescent patients to receive either the HR or the COR. All specific data on breakage dates, the reasons for breakage, and the broken parts of the retainers were recorded. A survival analysis was used to describe retainer survival over time. No significant differences were observed in survival times between the 2 groups for either the maxillary retainer (p = 0.254) or the mandibular retainer (p = 0.188). Both retainers tended to fracture, but the fracture locations were different. The findings indicate that clinicians should avoid increasing buccal root torque and reinforce the retainer base plates. Breakage rates may not influence the choice of retainer (Trial Registration number is ChiCTR-TRC-00000055).

Differences in the in vitro and in vivo 5-hydroxytryptamine extraction performance among three common microdialysis membranes.

The present study summarizes the results of an in vitro and in vivo comparison of the apparent 5-hydroxytryptamine (5-HT), 5-hydroxyindoleacetic acid, and 3,4-dihydroxyphenylacetic acid dialysis performance of three types of membrane frequently used in intracerebral microdialysis experiments. The dialysis fiber types examined were a regenerated cellulose Cuprophan (GF), a proprietary polycarbonate ether (CMA), and a polyacrylonitrile/sodium methallylsulfonate copolymer (HOSPAL). The experiments unexpectedly revealed that the HOSPAL membrane-equipped probes displayed clearly aberrant 5-HT diffusion dynamics compared with GF and CMA probes, demonstrable not only in vitro, but also in in vivo experiments. In vitro, the GF and CMA membrane-equipped probes exhibited maximum relative recovery for 5-HT already in the first 20-min sample, whereas the 5-HT recovery of HOSPAL probes increased in a very slow and protracted manner over a period of a little less than 2 h. The GF and CMA probes further displayed an immediate washout of 5-HT when the probes were subsequently transferred to artificial CSF only-containing medium (no 5-HT), whereas approximately 2 h was required to yield near-total extinction of dialysate 5-HT with the standard HOSPAL probes. In vivo, the rat ventral hippocampal dialysate 5-HT output responses to K+ (100 mM) infusion, to Ca2+ omission, and to systemic 8-hydroxy-2-(di-n-propylamino)tetralin injection were all markedly retarded and blunted when HOSPAL instead of GF membrane-equipped probes were used. However, the 5-hydroxyindoleacetic acid and 3,4-dihydroxyphenylacetic acid extraction in vitro and in vivo were comparable using either of the membrane types.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Oral administration of insulin as poly(vinyl alcohol)-gel spheres in diabetic rats.

The oral administration of insulin in poly(vinyl alcohol)-gel spheres (PVA-GS), an oral dosage form with prolonged residence time in the ileum, was examined in streptozotocin-induced diabetic rats. Intragastric administration of PVA-GS containing insulin and a protease inhibitor, aprotinin or bacitracin, caused a significant and prolonged reduction of blood glucose levels, suggesting insulin absorption. The bioavailability of insulin estimated from the hypoglycemic effect was about 2% in the presence of either protease inhibitor. The release profiles of insulin and the protease inhibitors from the PVA-GS could be explained by Higuchi's plot, and the rates were similar to each other. The site dependency of insulin absorption in the intestinal tract was examined by an in situ loop method. Insulin absorption estimated by plasma insulin levels was larger in the ileum and the large intestine than in the jejunum. The prolonged residence time of PVA-GS in the absorption site, the lower intestine, and the synchronous release of insulin and the protease inhibitors from the PVA-GS are the two major explanations for the improved bioavailability of insulin administered as PVA-GS containing a protease inhibitor.