Green tea catechin inhibits the activity and neutrophil release of Matrix Metalloproteinase-9.

Green tea (Camellia sinensis; lǜ chá) extracts have been shown to possess anti-oxidant and anti-inflammatory effects in various cell types. Green tea extract (GTX) has been shown to significantly inhibit the activity of collagenase-3 (matrix metalloproteinase-13 (MMP-13)) in vitro. MMPs, such as MMP-9, are known to be involved in many inflammatory diseases including periodontal disease. GTX and a major catechin, epigallocatechin-gallate (EGCG), were examined for their ability to inhibit purified MMP-9 activity and its release from stimulated neutrophils. Methanol extract of Green tea and commercially purchased EGCG (>95 % purity) were tested in vitro for their ability to inhibit MMP-9 activity and/or its release from neutrophils using a ß-casein cleavage assay and gelatin zymography, respectively. Statistical analysis was performed by Student's t-test. GTX and EGCG at 0.1% (w/v) completely inhibited the activity of MMP-9. In addition, GTX and EGCG (0.1 %) significantly inhibited (p < 0.001) the release of MMP-9 from formyl-Met-Leu-Phe (FMLP)-stimulated human neutrophils by 62.01% ± 6.717 and 79.63% ± 1.308, respectively. The inhibitory effects of GTX and EGCG occurred in unstimulated neutrophils (52.42% ± 3.443 and 62.33% ± 5.809, respectively). When the inhibitory effect of EGCG was further characterized, it significantly inhibited the release of MMP-9 from the FMLP-stimulated human neutrophils in a dose-dependent manner. The effects of GTX and EGCG on MMPs could be extrapolated to clinical/in vivo studies for the development of oral care products to prevent or treat chronic inflammatory diseases including periodontal diseases.

Scholarly publication practices of Doctor of Nursing Practice-prepared nurses.

Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) graduates are expected to contribute to nursing knowledge through empirically based studies testing the effectiveness of practice approaches that ultimately benefit patients and health care systems. This article describes publication practices of DNP graduates in the scholarly literature. Published studies (2005 to 2012) with at least one author with a DNP degree were identified. The search yielded 300 articles in 59 journals; 175 met the inclusion criteria and were included in this study. A codebook, consisting of 15 major categories, was used to extract relevant information. Original clinical investigations were the most frequent, followed by practice-focused patient and provider studies. The number of studies published in peer-reviewed journals with DNP-prepared authors increased over time. We recommend greater integration of translational science models into DNP curricula to achieve the goal of publishing scholarly products that use evidence to improve either practice or patient outcomes.