Association of cigarette smoking with oral bacterial microbiota and cardiometabolic health in Chinese adults.

The interplay among cigarette smoking status, oral microbiota, and cardiometabolic health is poorly understood. We aimed to examine the association of cigarette smoking status with oral microbiota and to assess the association of the identified microbial features with cardiometabolic risk factors in a Chinese population. This study included 587 participants within the Central China Cohort, including 111 smokers and 476 non-smokers, and their oral microbiota was profiled by 16S rRNA sequencing. Both oral microbial alpha- and beta-diversity were distinct between smokers and non-smokers (p < 0.05). With adjustment for sociodemographics, alcohol and tea drinking, tooth brushing frequency, and body mass index, the relative abundance of nine genera and 26 pathways, including the genus Megasphaera and two pathways involved in inositol degradation which have potentially adverse effects on cardiometabolic health, was significantly different between two groups (FDR q < 0.20). Multiple microbial features related to cigarette smoking were found to partly mediate the associations of cigarette smoking with serum triglycerides and C-reactive protein levels (p-mediation < 0.05). In conclusion, cigarette smoking status may have impacts on the oral microbial features, which may partially mediate the associations of cigarette smoking and cardiometabolic health.

Stable and pH-sensitive protein nanogels made by self-assembly of heat denatured soy protein.

In this study, we examined the possibility of preparing stable soy protein nanogels by simply heating homogeneous soy protein dispersion. The protein nanogels formed were characterized by z-average hydrodynamic diameter, polydispersity index, turbidity, ζ-potential, morphology, and their stability to pH and ionic strength change. Soy protein dispersion (1% w/v) was homogeneous around pH 5.9 where it had the lowest polydispersity index (∼0.1). Stable and spherical nanogels were formed by heating soy protein dispersion at pH 5.9 under 95 °C. They sustained constantly low polydispersity index (∼0.1) in the investigated pH range of 6.06-7.0 and 2.6-3.0. The nanogels were pH-sensitive and would swell with pH change. They were stable at 0-200 mM NaCl concentration. Denaturation of soy glycinin was the prerequisite for the formation of stable nanogels. Soy protein nanogels had a core-shell structure with basic polypeptides and ß subunits interacting together as the hydrophobic core; and acid polypeptides, α', and α subunits locating outside the core as hydrophilic shell. The inner structure of soy protein nanogels was mainly stabilized by disulfide bonds cross-linked network and hydrophobic interaction. Soy protein nanogels made in this study would be useful as functional ingredients in biotechnological, pharmaceutical, and food industries.