Proteomics of Secretory-Stage and Maturation-Stage Enamel of Genetically Distinct Mice.

The mechanisms by which excessive ingestion of fluoride (F) during amelogenesis leads to dental fluorosis (DF) are still not precisely known. Inbred strains of mice vary in their susceptibility to develop DF, and therefore permit the investigation of underlying molecular events influencing DF severity. We employed a proteomic approach to characterize and evaluate changes in protein expression from secretory-stage and maturation-stage enamel in 2 strains of mice with different susceptibilities to DF (A/J, i.e. 'susceptible' and 129P3/J, i.e. 'resistant'). Weanling male and female susceptible and resistant mice fed a low-F diet were divided into 2 F-water treatment groups. They received water containing 0 (control) or 50 mg F/l for 6 weeks. Plasma and incisor enamel was analyzed for F content. For proteomic analysis, the enamel proteins extracted for each group were separated by 2-dimensional electrophoresis and subsequently characterized by liquid-chromatography electrospray-ionization quadrupole time-of-flight mass spectrometry. F data were analyzed by 2-way ANOVA and Bonferroni's test (p < 0.05). Resistant mice had significantly higher plasma and enamel F concentrations when compared with susceptible mice in the F-treated groups. The proteomic results for mice treated with 0 mg F/l revealed that during the secretory stage, resistant mice had a higher abundance of proteins than their susceptible counterparts, but this was reversed during the maturation stage. Treatment with F greatly increased the number of protein spots detected in both stages. Many proteins not previously described in enamel (e.g. type 1 collagen) as well as some uncharacterized proteins were identified. Our findings reveal new insights regarding amelogenesis and how genetic background and F affect this process.

A Phthalocyanine Derivate Mouthwash to Gargling/Rinsing as an Option to Reduce Clinical Symptoms of COVID-19: Case Series.

AIM: This case series demonstrated that phthalocyanine derivate mouthwash is a promising alternative for reducing the viral load of SARS-CoV-2 and for clinical improvement of infected patients who presented mild and moderate symptoms. PURPOSE: The aim of this study was to report a case series of patients diagnosed with COVID-19 that used the phthalocyanine derivate mouthwash to reduce clinical symptoms. PATIENTS AND METHODS: Eight patients used 5mL of phthalocyanine derivate mouthwash gargling/rinsing for one minute, five times daily, over a fourteen day period. Two measurement scales were applied for each patient in different periods to verify sore throat - VAS - Visual Analogue Scale for Pain and the clinical conditions - PS - Performance Status. RESULTS: All patients presented a significant reduction in clinical symptoms with the use of the mouthwash for gargling/rinsing after few days of use, without hospitalization. CONCLUSION: The phthalocyanine derivate mouthwash protocol appears as a potential alternative for clinical improvement of COVID-19 infected patients. Daily use of this mouthwash rapidly reduced clinical symptoms such as sore throats, cough and mouth ulcers. Large, high-quality randomized controlled trials with larger sample size are necessary to confirm the effectiveness of this mouthwash protocol against COVID-19.