[Effect of bleaching combined with Er:YAG or Nd:YAG laser on shear bond strength and microleakage of resin restoration].

PURPOSE: To evaluate the effects of bleaching combined with Er:YAG laser or Nd:YAG laser on bond strength and microleakage of resin fillings on enamel surface. METHODS: Sixty-four pieces of enamel specimens prepared from isolated teeth were randomly divided into 4 groups(n=16): control group, simple bleaching group, bleaching combined with Er: YAG laser group and bleaching combined with Nd:YAG laser group. Then the shear bond strength and the depth of microleakage were tested, and the fracture mode of the specimen was observed under microscope. SPSS 26.0 software package was used for statistical analysis. RESULTS: After bleaching simply, the bond strength of the restoration was significantly decreased, and the marginal microleakage was significantly increased(P＜0.05). There was no significant difference in shear bond strength and microleakage depth between the group bleaching combined with Er: YAG laser and control group(P＞0.05). The shear bond strength after bleaching combined with Nd:YAG laser was significantly reduced (P＜0.05), but there was no significant difference in the depth of microleakage compared with unbleached microleakage(P＞0.05). Bonding interface fracture was the main fracture mode for all groups. CONCLUSIONS: Compared to traditional bleaching, bleaching combined with laser has certain clinical advantages due to its less influence on bond strength and microleakage of resin fillings.

Ecological shifts of salivary microbiota associated with metabolic-associated fatty liver disease.

Introduction: Metabolic-associated fatty liver disease (MAFLD) is the most common chronic liver disease related to metabolic syndrome. However, ecological shifts in the saliva microbiome in patients with MAFLD remain unknown. This study aimed to investigate the changes to the salivary microbial community in patients with MAFLD and explore the potential function of microbiota. Methods: Salivary microbiomes from ten MAFLD patients and ten healthy participants were analyzed by 16S rRNA amplicon sequencing and bioinformatics analysis. Body composition, plasma enzymes, hormones, and blood lipid profiles were assessed with physical examinations and laboratory tests. Results: The salivary microbiome of MAFLD patients was characterized by increased α-diversity and distinct ß-diversity clustering compared with control subjects. Linear discriminant analysis effect size analysis showed a total of 44 taxa significantly differed between the two groups. Genera Neisseria, Filifactor, and Capnocytophaga were identified as differentially enriched genera for comparison of the two groups. Co-occurrence networks suggested that the salivary microbiota from MAFLD patients exhibited more intricate and robust interrelationships. The diagnostic model based on the salivary microbiome achieved a good diagnostic power with an area under the curve of 0.82(95% CI: 0.61-1). Redundancy analysis and spearman correlation analysis revealed that clinical variables related to insulin resistance and obesity were strongly associated with the microbial community. Metagenomic predictions based on Phylogenetic Investigation of Communities by Reconstruction of Unobserved States revealed that pathways related to metabolism were more prevalent in the two groups. Conclusions: Patients with MAFLD manifested ecological shifts in the salivary microbiome, and the saliva microbiome-based diagnostic model provides a promising approach for auxiliary MAFLD diagnosis.

Osteomodulin protects dental pulp stem cells from cisplatin-induced apoptosis in vitro.

Human dental pulp stem cells (hDPSCs) are considered promising multipotent cell sources for tissue regeneration. Regulation of apoptosis and maintaining the cell homeostasis is a critical point for the application of hDPSCs. Osteomodulin (OMD), a member of the small leucine-rich proteoglycan family, was proved an important regulatory protein of hDPSCs in our previous research. Thus, the role of OMD in the apoptosis of hDPSCs was explored in this study. The expression of OMD following apoptotic induction was investigated and then the hDPSCs stably overexpressing or knocking down OMD were established by lentiviral transfection. The proportion of apoptotic cells and apoptosis-relative genes and proteins were examined with flow cytometry, Hoechst staining, Caspase 3 activity assay, qRT-PCR and western blotting. RNA-Seq analysis was used to explore possible biological function and mechanism. Results showed that the expression of OMD decreased following the apoptotic induction. Overexpression of OMD enhanced the viability of hDPSCs, decreased the activity of Caspase-3 and protected hDPSCs from apoptosis. Knockdown of OMD showed the opposite results. Mechanistically, OMD may act as a negative modulator of apoptosis via activation of the Akt/Glycogen synthase kinase 3ß (GSK-3ß)/ß-Catenin signaling pathway and more functional and mechanistic possibilities were revealed with RNA-Seq analysis. The present study provided evidence of OMD as a negative regulator of apoptosis in hDPSCs. Akt/GSK-3ß/ß-Catenin signaling pathway was involved in this process and more possible mechanism detected needed further exploration. This anti-apoptotic function of OMD provided a promising application prospect for hDPSCs in tissue regeneration.

Research on nanosciences involvement in pharmaceutical education should be reinforced.

Inclusion of nanoscience in pharmaceutical education should be reinforced, in order to match the demand of current pharmaceutical talent cultivation.

[Correlational Study of Thyroid-Stimulating Hormone and Salivary Microecology].

Objective: To investigate the relationship between the composition of salivary microecology and thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH) levels in healthy adults. Methods: Healthy subjects were included in the high-TSH group (n=22, 3.00-4.20 mIU/L) and the low-TSH group (n=24, 0.60-1.80 mIU/L) according to their TSH level. Clinical and laboratory examinations were conducted to measure and analyze the relevant clinical and biochemical indicators. Saliva samples were collected in the two groups and microbial genetic profiles were acquired by 16S rDNA sequencing and bioinformatics analysis. Results: There was no significant difference in the relevant clinical and biochemical indicators between the high-TSH group and the low-TSH group (P>0.05). Individuals with higher TSH levels had higher abundance and species diversity of salivary microbiome. Partial least squares discriminant analysis (PLS-DA) found that the microecology of the the high-TSH group and the low-TSH group (Adonis, P=0.0460) showed obvious differences in ß diversity. Wilcoxon rank-sum test and LEFSe analysis showed significant difference in the abundance of Fusobacteriumbetween the high-TSH group and the low-TSH group. Conclusion: Differences in the composition of microecology were observed in the saliva of healthy subjects with high TSH levels and those with low TSH levels, and the abundance of Fusobacteriumshowed the most significant difference between the high and low TSH groups.

[Correlation analysis of supragingival microbiome and host blood lipid levels].

PURPOSE: To analyze the correlation between microbiome of supragingival plaque and host blood lipid levels. METHODS: Samples of supragingival plaques from 68 volunteers aged 45-60 years were collected. The total DNA was extracted, and 16S rDNA V3-V4 regions were amplified via PCR. The amplified products were sequenced by Illumina MiSeq PE300. After that, OTU clustering and species annotation were carried out. Then, the correlation of annotated species (genus level) and host blood lipid level were calculated with Spearman correlation analysis. SPSS 16.0 software package was used for statistical analysis. RESULTS: The average number of sequences obtained from the supragingival plaque samples was 41 929, and the number of OTUs obtained by clustering was 1 037. A total of 25 phyla, 45 classes, 92 orders, 155 families and 330 genera were annotated. Species heat maps showed a high degree of consistency in the species composition abundance of 68 samples. Spearman correlation analysis showed that among the supragingival microorganisms, Alloprevotella spp., Dialister spp., Peptostreptococcus spp. and Prevotella 7 spp., were negatively correlated with the host serum total cholesterol/low density lipoprotein cholesterol level. Neisseria spp. was positively correlated with host serum high-density lipoprotein cholesterol, but negatively correlated with Prevotella 2 spp.. CONCLUSIONS: The compositional structure of the supragingival microbiome is relatively stable and has a correlation with the host blood lipid levels. Profiles of supragingival microbiome can be promising biomarkers of the lipid metabolism of the host.

[Shanghai municipal expert consensus on standardized prevention and control of COVID-19 during procedures of oral radiology].

The announcement of National Health Commission on January 20, 2020 (No.1 of 2020) has included novel coronavirus pneumonia into the B class infectious diseases according to the law of the People's Republic of China on the prevention and control of infectious diseases, and has been managed as A class infectious diseases. People's governments at all levels and health administration departments have been paying high attention to it. With the alleviation of COVID-19 nationwide, dental clinics gradually resume to work. The main transmission routes of COVID-19 are respiratory droplets and contact transmission, hence oral radiological examination is kind of a high-risk operation. Standardized radiologic process is of great significance to reduce the risk of COVID-19 transmission. In accordance with the national and Shanghai epidemic prevention requirements, and in combination with the actual situation of various medical institutions, Oral and Maxillofacial Radiology Committee of Shanghai Stomatological Association formulated the expert consensus on standardized prevention and control of COVID-19 for clinical reference. This recommendation will be updated according to the situation of epidemic prevention and control in China and the new relevant diagnosis and treatment plans.

[Evaluation on the fracture resistance of dental tissues after guided plate-mediated precision minimally invasive root canal treatment].

PURPOSE: In order to achieve accurate and minimally invasive root canal treatment and enhance the fracture resistance of tooth tissue after root canal therapy, this study explores digital guided mediated minimally invasive root canal treatment and compares it with conventional root canal treatment to provide a more favorable method for clinical practice. METHODS: Forty freshly extracted first permanent molars were randomly divided into control group and experimental group. Teeth in the control group were treated with conventional root canal treatment, while teeth in the experimental group were treated with precise minimally invasive root canal treatment. The difference between the time of opening of the pulp chamber and the area of the open pores on the total area of the occlusal surface was compared. Loading test was carried out on the subjects using a universal testing machine, and the fracture resistence of the tooth tissues of the two groups were measured. Statistical analysis was performed using SPSS 24.0 software package. RESULTS: In the control group, the time required for opening the pulp chamber was (1.85±0.05) min, the open pore area was (9.18±0.48)% of the total occlusal area, and the load of the tooth tissue was (1.48±0.07) kN. In the experimental group, the time required was (0.72±0.10) min, the open pore area was (3.53±0.13)% of the total occlusal area, and the load of the tooth tissue was (1.81±0.03) kN. The higher the loading value, the stronger the fracture resistance of the tooth tissue. Compared with traditional root canal treatment, digital guided plate mediated minimally invasive root canal treatment had the advantages of short time, small access cavity and strong fracture resistance of tooth tissue. The difference between the two groups was significant (P<0.01). CONCLUSIONS: Digital guided plate-mediated accurate minimally invasive root canal treatment can reduce the occlusal area, shorten the operation time beside the chair, retain more healthy tooth tissue, enhance the fracture resistance of tooth tissue after root canal treatment, and improve the retention rate of affected teeth.

Shifts in the Bacterial Community of Supragingival Plaque Associated With Metabolic-Associated Fatty Liver Disease.

Metabolic-associated fatty liver disease (MAFLD), also known as the hepatic manifestation of metabolic disorders, has become one of the most common chronic liver diseases worldwide. The associations between some oral resident microbes and MAFLD have been described. However, changes to the oral microbial community in patients with MAFLD remain unknown. In this study, variations to the supragingival microbiota of MAFLD patients were identified. The microbial genetic profile of supragingival plaque samples from 24 MAFLD patients and 22 healthy participants were analyzed by 16S rDNA sequencing and bioinformatics analysis. Clinical variables, including indicators of insulin resistance, obesity, blood lipids, and hepatocellular damage, were evaluated with laboratory tests and physical examinations. The results showed that the diversity of the supragingival microbiota in MAFLD patients was significantly higher than that in healthy individuals. Weighted UniFrac principal coordinates analysis and partial least squares discriminant analysis showed that the samples from the MAFLD and control groups formed separate clusters (Adonis, P = 0.0120). There were 27 taxa with differential distributions (linear discriminant analysis, LDA>2.0) between two groups, among which Actinomyces spp. and Prevotella 2 spp. were over-represented in the MAFLD group with highest LDA score, while Neisseria spp. and Bergeyella spp. were more abundant in the control group. Co-occurrence networks of the top 50 abundant genera in the two groups suggested that the inter-genera relationships were also altered in the supragingival plaque of MAFLD patients. In addition, in genus level, as risk factors for the development of MAFLD, insulin resistance was positively correlated with the abundances of Granulicatella, Veillonella, Streptococcus, and Scardovia, while obesity was positively correlated to the abundances of Streptococcus, Oslenella, Scardovia, and Selenomonas. Metagenomic predictions based on Phylogenetic Investigation of Communities by Reconstruction of Unobserved States revealed that pathways related to sugar (mainly free sugar) metabolism were enriched in the supragingival plaque of the MAFLD group. In conclusion, as compared to healthy individuals, component and interactional dysbioses were observed in the supragingival microbiota of the MAFLD group.

[The effect of Streptococcus mutans luxS gene on mixed-species biofilm communities].

PURPOSE: To evaluate the effect of S.mutans luxS gene on mixed-species biofilms communities. METHODS: Biofilms were formed by S. mutans (wild type strain, its luxS overexpression strain and luxS knockout strain) and Lactobacillus acidophilus (ATCC4356) with a ratio of 1:1 at 37℃ for 4 h, 14 h and 24 h. MTT assay was used to detect the quantification of the biofilms formed. The structures of biofilms were observed under confocal laser scanning microscopy after 24 h, and expression of biofilm-related genes (ftf, smu630, brpA, gbpB, gtfB, vicR, comDE and relA) was investigated by real-time PCR. Statistical analysis was performed with SPSS17.0 software package. RESULTS: The results showed that biofilm formed by S. mutans(wild type strain, its luxS overexpression strain and luxS knockout strain) and L.acidophilus after 14 h were 0.481±0.024, 0.591±0.023 and 0.279±0.019, respectively. The same findings were present after 24 h, the biofilm formed by S.mutans overexpression strain with L.acidophilus was higher than wild type strain, and the biofilm formed by knockout strain significantly decreased; but there was no significant difference at 4 h time points. CLSM images revealed that both S.mutans overexpression strain and its wild type strain tended to aggregate into distinct clusters and dense structures, whereas the luxS knockout strain appeared relatively sparse. Compared with wild type strain, all of the genes examined were upregulated in the biofilms formed by the overexpression strain, and were downregulated in the biofilms formed by the luxS mutant strain in mixed-species biofilm. CONCLUSIONS: S.mutans luxS gene can affect mixed-species biofilm formation with L.acidophilus, which provides evidences for further study.

[In vitro study of apical negative pressure irrigation on apical extrusion and E. faecalis elimination].

PURPOSE: To compare the efficiency of negative pressure irrigation and conventional syringe irrigation and evaluate the possibility as a new way of irrigation. METHODS: In vitro silicone socket model was used to simulate the resistance of apical flow by apical surrounding tissues. The in vitro efficacy on apical extrusion and E.faecalis elimination between negative pressure irrigation and conventional syringe irrigation was compared. SPSS 17.0 software package was used for statistical analysis. RESULTS: Negative pressure irrigation extruded less (P<0.05), and was more effective in E.faecalis elimination(P<0.05) than conventional syringe. CONCLUSIONS: Negative pressure irrigation is a promising irrigation technique during root canal therapy.

p300 and C/EBPß-regulated IKKß expression are involved in thrombin-induced IL-8/CXCL8 expression in human lung epithelial cells.

Asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) are common chronic lung inflammatory diseases. Thrombin and interleukin (IL)-8/C-X-C chemokine ligand 8 (CXCL8) play critical roles in lung inflammation. Our previous study showed that c-Src-dependent IκB kinase (IKK)/IκBα/nuclear factor (NF)-κB and mitogen-activated protein kinase kinase kinase 1 (MEKK1)/extracellular signal-regulated kinase (ERK)/ribosomal S6 protein kinase (RSK)-dependent CAAT/enhancer-binding protein ß (C/EBPß) activation are involved in thrombin-induced IL-8/CXCL8 expression in human lung epithelial cells. In this study, we aimed to investigate the roles of p300 and C/EBPß-reliant IKKß expression in thrombin-induced IL-8/CXCL8 expression. Thrombin-induced increases in IL-8/CXCL8-luciferase activity and IL-8/CXCL8 release were inhibited by p300 small interfering (siRNA). Thrombin-caused histone H3 acetylation was attenuated by p300 siRNA. Stimulation of cells with thrombin for 12h resulted in increases in IKKß expression and phosphorylation in human lung epithelial cells. However, thrombin did not affect p65 expression. Moreover, 12h of thrombin stimulation produced increases in IKKß expression and phosphorylation, and IκBα phosphorylation, which were inhibited by C/EBPß siRNA. Finally, treatment of cells with thrombin caused increases in p300 and C/EBPß complex formation, p65 and C/EBPß complex formation, and recruitment of p300, p65, and C/EBPß to the IL-8/CXCL8 promoter. These results imply that p300-dependent histone H3 acetylation and C/EBPß-regulated IKKß expression contribute to thrombin-induced IL-8/CXCL8 expression in human lung epithelial cells. Results of this study will help clarify C/EBPß signaling pathways involved in thrombin-induced IL-8/CXCL8 expression in human lung epithelial cells.

[Construction of luxS gene knockout mutant of Enterococcus faecalis].

PUPPOSE: To construct quorum sensing luxS knockout mutants of Enterococcus faecalis through homologous recombination. METHODS: The upstream and downstream flank DNA fragments of E. faecalis luxS gene (up, dn) and erythromycin resistance gene (erm) were amplified by PCR. In order to construct recombination plasmid Puemrd, these DNA fragments were inserted into the plasmid pUC18 by corresponding double digests. After allelic exchange, the luxS knockout mutants strains were selected on 30 µg/mL erythromycin plates. RESULTS: With endonuclease reaction and DNA sequencing, it was proved that the objective plasmid, Puemrd, was constructed correctly. The luxS knockout mutants strains were confirmed by PCR. CONCLUSIONS: Enterococcus faecalis luxS gene has been successfully disrupted with homologous recombination. This mutant strain sets a good foundation for further functional study.

[Exploring the stem cell surface markers expressed in human dental pulp stem cells].

PURPOSE: To explore the stem cell surface markers expressed in human dental pulp stem cells which were selected and isolated by magnetic beads. METHODS: Human dental pulp cells (hDPCs) were separated and cultured from dental pulp of healthy third molars for orthodontic purpose. HDPSCs were isolated from cultured hDPCs by magnetic-activated cell sorting's (MACS) indirect magnetic cell labeling and positive selection strategy with antibody STRO-1 in the 2nd generation. Then the stem cell surface markers (CD73, CD90, CD105, CD166 and STRO-1) were respectively detected in 3, 4, 5, 6, 7 and 8 generation of dental pulp stem cells. HDPSCs were induced to differentiation by adipogenic medium and osteogenic medium in the 3rd generation. Adipogenic differentiation was assessed by oil red O staining in day 21, and osteogenic differentiation was assessed by alizarin red staining in day 21. RESULTS: HDPSCs could differentiate into adipocyte and osteoblasts. Oil red O staining and alizarin red staining were positively expressed after induction of HDPSCs. STRO-1's expression was decreased with the increase of generation. The expressions of CD73, CD90, CD105 and CD166 were relatively stable. CONCLUSIONS: The expression of STRO-1 is declined with the increase of generation, and the expressions of CD73, CD90, CD105 and CD166 are relatively stable with the changes of generation. Supported by National Natural Science Foundation of China (81070826/81371143) and Shanghai Rising-Star Program (12QH1401400).

The impact of various time intervals on the supragingival plaque dynamic core microbiome.

OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to examine the influence of various time intervals on the composition of the supragingival plaque microbiome, especially the dynamic core microbiome, and to find a suitable observation interval for further studies on oral microbiota. METHODS AND MATERIALS: Eight qualified volunteers whose respective age ranges from 25 to 28 years participated in the present study. The supragingival plaque was collected from the buccogingival surface of the maxillary first molar at eight time slots with different intervals (day 0, 1 day, 3 days, 1 week, 2 weeks, 3 weeks, 1 month, and 3 months). Bioinformatic analyses was performed based on 16S rDNA pyrosequencing (454 sequencing platform) targeting at the hypervariable V4-V5 region, in order to assess the diversity and variation of the supragingival plaque microbiome. RESULTS: A total of 359,565 qualified reads for 64 samples were generated for subsequent analyses, which represents 8,452 operational taxonomic units identified at 3% dissimilarity. The dynamic core microbiome detected in the current study included five phyla, 12 genera and 13 species. At the genus level, the relative abundance of bacterial communities under the "1 day," "1 month," and "3 months" intervals was clustered into sub-category. At the species level, the number of overlapping species remained stable between the "1 month" and "3 months" intervals, whereas the number of dynamic core species became stable within only 1 week. CONCLUSIONS: This study emphasized the impact of different time intervals (days, weeks and months) on the composition, commonality and diversity of the supragingival microbiome. The analyses found that for various types of studies, the time interval of a month is more suitable for observing the general composition of the supragingival microbiome, and that a week is better for observing the dynamic core microbiome.

[Complementation and function of methyl-metabolic pathway in Streptococcus mutans luxS null strain].

PURPOSE: To complement the activated methyl cycle (AMC) pathway at an AI-2 defect background in Streptococcus mutans (S. mutans) luxS null strain. METHODS: A sahH gene was amplified from Pseudomonas aeruginosa and introduced into the S. mutans luxS null strain to complement the methyl-metabolic disruption at an AI-2 defect background. Western blot, reverse-transcription PCR and AI-2 bioassay were performed to confirm the heterogenous expression of SahH in S. mutans luxS null strain. The data was statistically analyzed by SAS8.0 software package. RESULTS: LuxS and SahH were detected to express in Escherichia coli BL21 as well as their mRNA were confirmed to be successfully transcribed in S. mutans luxS null strain. AI-2 production was found in wide type S. mutans and its luxS-introduced luxS null strain but not found in the luxS null strain and its sahH and empty plasmid-introduced strains. CONCLUSIONS: A new S. mutans derivative with the AMC pathway complements while the AI-2 defect is constructed.

[The net analyte preprocessing combined with radial basis partial least squares regression applied in noninvasive measurement of blood glucose].

In order to improve the prediction accuracy of quantitative analysis model in the near-infrared spectroscopy of blood glucose, this paper, by combining net analyte preprocessing (NAP) algorithm and radial basis functions partial least squares (RBFPLS) regression, builds a nonlinear model building method which is suitable for glucose measurement of human, named as NAP-RBFPLS. First, NAP is used to pre-process the near-infrared spectroscopy of blood glucose, in order to effectively extract the information which only relates to glucose signal from the original near-infrared spectra, so that it could effectively weaken the occasional correlation problems of the glucose changes and the interference factors which are caused by the absorption of water, albumin, hemoglobin, fat and other components of the blood in human body, the change of temperature of human body, the drift of measuring instruments, the changes of measuring environment, and the changes of measuring conditions; and then a nonlinear quantitative analysis model is built with the near-infrared spectroscopy data after NAP, in order to solve the nonlinear relationship between glucose concentrations and near-infrared spectroscopy which is caused by body strong scattering. In this paper, the new method is compared with other three quantitative analysis models building on partial least squares (PLS), net analyte preprocessing partial least squares (NAP-PLS) and RBFPLS respectively. At last, the experimental results show that the nonlinear calibration model, developed by combining NAP algorithm and RBFPLS regression, which was put forward in this paper, greatly improves the prediction accuracy of prediction sets, and what has been proved in this paper is that the nonlinear model building method will produce practical applications for the research of non-invasive detection techniques on human glucose concentrations.

Characterization of oral bacterial diversity of irradiated patients by high-throughput sequencing.

The objective of this study was to investigate the compositional profiles and microbial shifts of oral microbiota during head-and-neck radiotherapy. Bioinformatic analysis based on 16S rRNA gene pyrosequencing was performed to assess the diversity and variation of oral microbiota of irradiated patients. Eight patients with head and neck cancers were involved in this study. For each patient, supragingival plaque samples were collected at seven time points before and during radiotherapy. A total of 147,232 qualified sequences were obtained through pyrosequencing and bioinformatic analysis, representing 3,460 species level operational taxonomic units (OTUs) and 140 genus level taxa. Temporal variations were observed across different time points and supported by cluster analysis based on weighted UniFrac metrics. Moreover, the low evenness of oral microbial communities in relative abundance was revealed by Lorenz curves. This study contributed to a better understanding of the detailed characterization of oral bacterial diversity of irradiated patients.

Exploring the dynamic core microbiome of plaque microbiota during head-and-neck radiotherapy using pyrosequencing.

Radiotherapy is the primary treatment modality used for patients with head-and-neck cancers, but inevitably causes microorganism-related oral complications. This study aims to explore the dynamic core microbiome of oral microbiota in supragingival plaque during the course of head-and-neck radiotherapy. Eight subjects aged 26 to 70 were recruited. Dental plaque samples were collected (over seven sampling time points for each patient) before and during radiotherapy. The V1-V3 hypervariable regions of bacterial 16S rRNA genes were amplified, and the high-throughput pyrosequencing was performed. A total of 140 genera belonging to 13 phyla were found. Four phyla (Actinobacteria, Bacteroidetes, Firmicutes, and Proteobacteria) and 11 genera (Streptococcus, Actinomyces, Veillonella, Capnocytophaga, Derxia, Neisseria, Rothia, Prevotella, Granulicatella, Luteococcus, and Gemella) were found in all subjects, supporting the concept of a core microbiome. Temporal variation of these major cores in relative abundance were observed, as well as a negative correlation between the number of OTUs and radiation dose. Moreover, an optimized conceptual framework was proposed for defining a dynamic core microbiome in extreme conditions such as radiotherapy. This study presents a theoretical foundation for exploring a core microbiome of communities from time series data, and may help predict community responses to perturbation as caused by exposure to ionizing radiation.

Effects of intensity-modulated radiotherapy on human oral microflora.

This study aimed to evaluate changes in the biodiversity of the oral microflora of patients with head and neck cancer treated with postoperative intensity-modulated radiotherapy (IMRT) or conventional radiotherapy (CRT). Pooled dental plaque samples were collected during the radiation treatment from patients receiving IMRT (n = 13) and CRT (n = 12). Denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis (DGGE) was used to analyze the temporal variation of these plaque samples. The stimulated and unstimulated salivary flow rates were also compared between IMRT and CRT patients. Reductions in the severity of hyposalivation were observed in IMRT patients compared with CRT patients. We also observed that the temporal stability of the oral ecosystem was significantly higher in the IMRT group (69.96 ± 7.82%) than in the CRT group (51.98 ± 10.45%) (P < 0.05). The findings of the present study suggest that IMRT is more conducive to maintaining the relative stability of the oral ecosystem than CRT.