Assessment of Skeletal Maturation in Male Children With Unilateral Cleft Lip and Palate.

OBJECTIVES: To assess the skeletal maturation in male children with unilateral cleft lip and palate (UCLP) in comparison to that of noncleft peers using the cervical vertebral maturation (CVM) method. METHODS: A sample of 149 male UCLP patients aged from 8- to 16-year-old and 447 age-matched orthodontic individuals without clefts was retrospectively compiled. Cervical vertebral maturation was assessed based on the cephalometric radiographs. RESULTS: The proportion of children in CVMSI and CVMSII was higher in the UCLP group compared to that in the noncleft group, but there was no significant difference in the CVM stage of the cleft patients compared to their noncleft peers. In the 12- to 14-year-old group, children with UCLP showed significantly delayed skeletal maturity in comparison with their noncleft peers. No significant difference was found in the other 3 age groups. There was a statistically significant correlation between the skeletal age and chronological age in both the UCLP group and the noncleft group. There was no significant difference in the mean age at CVMII and CVMIII between the cleft patients and noncleft peers. CONCLUSIONS: Males with UCLP aged 12- to 14-year-old have a statistically significant increased risk of delayed skeletal maturity in comparison with their noncleft peers. The chronological age is not an accurate indicator to assess the degree of skeletal maturation.

Association of oral microbiota with lung cancer risk in a low-income population in the Southeastern USA.

PURPOSE: Oral microbiome plays an important role in oral health and systemic diseases, including cancer. We aimed to prospectively investigate the association of oral microbiome with lung cancer risk. METHODS: We analyzed 156 incident lung cancer cases (73 European Americans and 83 African Americans) and 156 individually matched controls nested within the Southern Community Cohort Study. Oral microbiota were assessed using 16S rRNA gene sequencing in pre-diagnostic mouth rinse samples. Paired t test and the permutational multivariate analysis of variance test were used to evaluate lung cancer risk association with alpha diversity or beta diversity, respectively. Conditional logistic regression models were used to evaluate the association of individual bacterial abundance or prevalence with lung cancer risk. RESULTS: No significant differences were observed for alpha or beta diversity between lung cancer cases and controls. Abundance of families Lachnospiraceae_[XIV], Peptostreptococcaceae_[XI], and Erysipelotrichaceae and species Parvimonas micra was associated with decreased lung cancer risk, with odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) of 0.76 (0.59-0.98), 0.80 (0.66-0.97), 0.81 (0.67-0.99), and 0.83 (0.71-0.98), respectively (all p < 0.05). Prevalence of five pre-defined oral pathogens were not significantly associated with overall lung cancer risk. Prevalence of genus Bacteroidetes_[G-5] and species Alloprevotella sp._oral_taxon_912, Capnocytophaga sputigena, Lactococcus lactis, Peptoniphilaceae_[G-1] sp._oral_taxon_113, Leptotrichia sp._oral_taxon_225, and Fretibacterium fastidiosum was associated with decreased lung cancer risk, with ORs and 95% CIs of 0.55 (0.30-1.00), 0.36 (0.17-0.73), 0.53 (0.31-0.92), 0.43 (0.21-0.88), 0.43 (0.19-0.94), 0.57 (0.34-0.99), and 0.54 (0.31-0.94), respectively (all p < 0.05). Species L. sp._oral_taxon_225 was significantly associated with decreased lung cancer risk in African Americans (OR [95% CIs] 0.28 [0.12-0.66]; p = 0.00012). CONCLUSION: Results from this study suggest that oral microbiota may play a role in the development of lung cancer.

Three-Year Follow-Up of a Patient With Unilateral Cleft Lip and Palate Treated With Maxillary Protraction and Alveolar Bone Grafting: An Approach Exploring the Potential Power of Growth.

Clinically, patients with operated unilateral cleft lip and palate always present with a concave profile, depressed midface, maxillary hypoplasia, narrow upper dental arch, and class III malocclusion. In this clinical report, the authors describe the successful orthodontic treatment of a patient with unilateral cleft lip and palate. A boy, 7 years 11 months of age, with a history of unilateral cleft lip and cleft palate presented with a Class I malocclusion on Skeletal Class III base. A satisfactory occlusion and a favorable lateral profile were achieved after maxillary protraction (face mask) combined with fixed appliance treatment, including alveolar bone grafting surgery. An acceptable occlusion and facial proportion were maintained after a 3-year retention period. These results suggest orthodontic treatment with growth interference is an effective option for a patient with cleft lip and palate.

Characterization and functional prediction of the dental plaque microbiome in patients with alveolar clefts.

Introduction: Alveolar cleft (AC) is a common congenital defect in people with cleft lip and palate (CLP). Alveolar bone grafting (ABG) is typically performed during adolescence, resulting in the fissure remaining in the mouth for a longer length of time. Patients with AC have a greater rate of oral diseases such as dental caries than the normal population, and the precise characteristics of the bacterial alterations caused by AC are unknown. Methods: We recruited a total of 87 subjects and collected dental plaque samples from AC adolescents (AAP), post-operative ABG adolescents (PAP), healthy control adolescents (CAP), AC young adults (AYP), post-operative ABG young adults (PYP), and healthy control young adults (CYP). The sequencing of 16S rRNA genes was performed. Results: The microbial composition of plaque from alveolar cleft patients differed significantly from age-matched healthy controls. Linear discriminant analysis effect size (LEfSe) analysis revealed that AAP was enriched for Neisseria, Haemophilus, Fusobacterium, Rhodococcus, Aggregatibacter, Gemella, and Porphyromonas, whereas AYP was enriched for Capnocytophaga, Rhodococcus, and Actinomyces-f0332. There were phenotypic differences in facultatively anaerobic, Gram-negative, Gram-positive, and oxidative stress tolerance between the AYP group with longer alveolar cleft and the healthy control group according to Bugbase phenotypic predictions. Alveolar bone grafting did not alter the functional phenotype of alveolar cleft patients but reduced the number of differential genera between alveolar cleft patients and healthy controls at both ages. Conclusions: Our study systematically characterized the supragingival plaque microbiota of alveolar cleft patients, post-alveolar bone grafting patients, and matched healthy controls in two ages to gain a better understanding of plaque ecology and microbiology associated with alveolar clefts.

Precision targeting of CuET overload to disrupt mitochondrial unfolded protein response by integrated liposome.

Mitochondria in breast cancer play a critical role in survival and adaptation to dynamic environments. Thus, targeting mitochondria emerges as a promising therapeutic strategy for breast cancer. However, the adaptive unfolded protein response in mitochondria (UPRmt) due to mitochondrial unspecific distribution might contribute to diminished therapeutic outcomes. Herein, mitochondrial targeting liposome agents (CTPP-Lipid) are constructed and adopted for delivering the copper ion (CuET-DSF), which is especially sensitive for mitochondria-abundant breast tumors. In brief, the CTPP-Lipid@CuET achieves the goal of Cu2+ overloading by mitochondria targeting delivery. This rapidly increases ROS production, disrupts mitochondrial structure, and avoids the adaptive UPRmt formation, finally leading to apoptosis of breast cancer cells. In general, the Cu2+ overloading at mitochondria by CTPP-Lipid@CuET is a potential strategy for antitumor therapy, providing new insights into breast tumor therapy.

In Vitro and In Vivo Evaluation of Chlorogenic Acid-Encapsulated Lignin on Patulin Adsorption and Alleviation of Patulin-Induced Colonic Damage.

Patulin (PAT) is a water-soluble mycotoxin that causes digestive tract damage and liver and kidney function abnormalities. The current control approaches only reduce the amount of PAT in raw materials and food, which is difficult to remove once ingested in the body. In this study, lignin-based cross-linked particles loaded with chlorogenic acid were prepared, which intervened the liver and colon damage caused by PAT in mice. In the simulated digestion process in vitro, the accumulated adsorption capacity of the LB/CA-SH for PAT was 0.934 mg/g. LB/CA-SH intervention reversed the shortening of the colon length, alleviated the changes in the activities of antioxidant enzymes, and reduced the levels of oxidation markers protein carbonyl and malondialdehyde in the colon tissue of the model group. The absorption of sorbent alleviated the decrease of organ index and the abnormality of serum biochemical indexes (alanine aminotransferase, aspartate aminotransferase, urea nitrogen, and uric acid) caused by PAT. These results support the potential of using LB/CA-SH as a novel protective agent to reduce the toxicity of PAT.

Mesenchymal stromal cell exosomes enhance dental pulp cell functions and promote pulp-dentin regeneration.

Mesenchymal stromal/stem cell (MSC) therapies are currently being explored for dental pulp regeneration. As the therapeutic effects of MSCs in tissue repair are mediated mainly through the release of extracellular vesicles (EVs) including exosomes, we investigated here the cellular processes and molecular mechanisms modulated by MSC exosomes in dental pulp regeneration. Using dental pulp cell (DPC) cultures, we demonstrated that MSC exosomes could increase DPC migration, proliferation, and odontogenic differentiation. The enhancement of these cellular processes was mediated through exosomal CD73-mediated adenosine receptor activation of AKT and ERK signaling. Consistent with these observations, MSC exosomes increased the expression of dentin matrix proteins and promoted the formation of dentin-like tissue and bridge-like structures in a rat pulp defect model. These effects were comparable to that of mineral trioxide aggregate (MTA) treatment. MSC exosomes also yielded recellularized pulp-dentin tissues in the root canal of endodontically-treated human premolars, following subcutaneous implantation in the mouse dorsum. Together, our findings suggest that MSC exosomes could exert a multi-faceted effect on DPC functions including migration, proliferation and odontogenic differentiation to promote dental pulp regeneration. This study provides the basis for development of MSC exosomes as a cell-free MSC therapeutic alternative for pulp-dentin regeneration.

Tooth Loss and Risk of Lung Cancer among Urban Chinese Adults: A Cohort Study with Meta-Analysis.

Epidemiological evidence on tooth loss and lung cancer risk remains limited, especially for smoking-specific associations. To investigate the association between tooth loss and lung cancer risk by smoking status, we first analyzed data from the Shanghai Men's Health Study (n = 49,868) and the Shanghai Women's Health Study (n = 44,309). Cox regression models were applied to estimate the hazard ratios (HRs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) for lung cancer risk in relation to tooth loss. We also conducted a meta-analysis to summarize epidemiologic findings to date, incorporating results from the current study and six previously published studies. For 7.3 median follow-up years, 973 incident lung cancer cases (613 men and 360 women) were ascertained. After adjustment for major covariates, tooth loss was associated with an increased risk of lung cancer among men (HR [95% CI] for >10 teeth vs. none = 1.59 [1.21−2.11]) but not among women (0.86 [0.50−1.46]). The positive association was stronger among male current smokers (1.75 [1.26−2.45], p-interaction by smoking status = 0.04). In a meta-analysis incorporating 4052 lung cancer cases and 248,126 non-cases, tooth loss was associated with a 1.64-fold increased risk of developing lung cancer (relative risk [RR, 95% CI] for the uppermost with the lowest category = 1.64 [1.44−1.86]). The positive association was more evident among current smokers (1.86 [1.41−2.46]), but no significant associations were found among never or former smokers. Our findings suggest that tooth loss may be associated with an increased risk of lung cancer, and the association could be modified by smoking status.