Bone regeneration is enhanced by the combined use of acid-electrolyzed functional water with hydroxyapatite/collagen composite.

Hydroxyapatite/collagen (HAP/Col) composite has a nanostructure and composition similar to that of natural bone. Herein, we have evaluated the beneficial effects of acid-electrolyzed functional water (FW) in combination with HAP/Col composite as an irrigation material in a rat calvarium defect model. The rats were divided into four groups: control, PBS irrigation; FW, FW irrigation; HAP/Col, filled with HAP/Col; FW + HAP/Col, FW irrigation prior to HAP/Col filling. Bone volume (BV) and bone mineral density (BMD) of the newly formed bone were analyzed by microcomputed tomography. The results indicated that the combined use of FW and HAP/Col significantly augmented both BV (12.25 ± 1.93 mm3 , control: 3.22 ± 0.55 mm3 , 6 weeks) and BMD (120.09 ± 14.76 cm3 /mg vs. control: 54.67 ± 7.20 cm3 /mg, 6 weeks) in a time-dependent manner, which might be attributed to the soluble factor-inducing ability of FW. Based on this assumption, bFGF concentration in peripheral blood was measured. bFGF concentration was significantly increased in the FW + HAP/Col group (68.25 ± 9.2 pg/ml vs. control: 21.70 ± 8.18 pg/ml, 6 hr). Real-time PCR demonstrated significant augmentation of MCSF (2.82 ± 0.59-fold), RANKL (2.51 ± 0.33-fold) and BMP7 (1.66 ± 0.25-fold) (bone regeneration-related genes) and PDGF (1.31 ± 0.15-fold), VEGF (3.27 ± 0.42-ld) and IL-8 (6.77 ± 2.02-fold) (angiogenic genes) mRNAs in the FW + HAP/Col group. Taken together, these results suggest that the combined use of FW and HAP/Col induces bone regeneration, presumably by inducing the factors contributing to bone regeneration and angiogenesis.

Functional expression of TLR5 in murine salivary gland epithelial cells.

Toll-like receptors (TLR) recognize microbe-associated molecular patterns and induce the innate immune response. Among them, TLR5 recognizes the Gram-negative bacterial component flagellin. The aim of this study was to examine the expression of TLR5 in mouse salivary gland (SG). The SG was excised from 8- to 10-week-old female C57BL/6 mice. Salivary gland epithelial cells (SGECs) were purified and subjected to reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR). Western blotting was performed to detect TLR5 expression at the protein level in several organs. The localization of TLR5 in SG was examined using immunohistochemical staining. The responsiveness of SGECs to flagellin was further examined by evaluating the induction of CXCL1 by real-time PCR and immunoprecipitation followed by Western blotting. TLR5 expression in SG was confirmed at the gene and protein levels. Immunohistochemical staining detected TLR5 in both acinic and ductal cells of the sublingual gland, but not in serous acinic cells of the submandibular gland. Although TLR5 was detected throughout the cytoplasm in ductal cells, positive staining was observed on the basal side of the mucous acinic cells. The purified SGECs responded to flagellin and induced the production of CXCL1. These findings suggest that TLR5 is functionally expressed in the SG and responds to its cognate ligand flagellin. (J Oral Sci 58, 317-323, 2016).

Comparison of MMP2 and MMP9 expression levels between primary and metastatic regions of oral squamous cell carcinoma.

Matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) and tumor-associated macrophages (TAMs) play important roles in tumor growth. The present study investigated the expression levels of MMP2 and MMP9 in relation to the distribution of TAMs in the primary and metastatic regions of oral squamous cell carcinoma. Twenty-nine cases of oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) with regional lymph node metastasis were selected from available documents in the archives of the Department of Pathology, Nihon University School of Dentistry. Four-micrometer-thick sections were prepared from the primary and metastatic regions. Each section was subjected to immunohistochemical staining using anti-MMP2, anti-MMP9, and anti-CD68 antibodies. The distribution and localization of MMPs and TAMs were compared between primary and metastatic regions. The expression levels of both MMPs were higher in the metastatic regions of lingual and gingival cancers. Statistically significant differences were observed in both T1 and T2 cases. In contrast to the higher expression of MMPs in metastatic regions, a higher number of TAMs were distributed in the primary regions. From these results, MMP expression levels and the numbers of TAMs were expected to have an inverse relationship between the primary and metastatic regions of OSCC. (J Oral Sci 58, 59-65, 2016).

Electrolytically generated acid functional water inhibits NF-κB activity by attenuating nuclear-cytoplasmic shuttling of p65 and p50 subunits.

BACKGROUND: Human ß-defensin 2 (hBD2) gene expression is dependent on nuclear factor kappa B (NF-κB) activity. We have previously demonstrated that electrolytically generated acid functional water (FW) induces the expression of hBD2 in the human oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) cell line Ca9-22. However, the induction was not dependent on NF-κB activity; in fact, FW inhibited NF-κB activity. Therefore, we hypothesized that FW might reduce spontaneous interleukin 8 (IL-8) secretion by Ca9-22 cells, which is heavily dependent on NF-κB activity. This study aimed at demonstrating the inhibitory effect of FW on NF-κB activity. METHODS: Ca9-22 cells were incubated with FW, and spontaneous IL-8 secretion was observed by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. Luciferase assay was performed using the 5'-untranslated region of the IL-8 gene. The steps of NF-κB activation blocked by FW were evaluated by localization of the NF-κB subunits p65 and p50 by immunofluorescence staining. Western blotting was further performed to confirm the changes in NF-κB subunit localization. RESULTS: The Ca9-22 cells spontaneously secreted IL-8, which was rapidly and drastically inhibited by FW treatment. The luciferase assay demonstrated the inhibitory action of FW, which was diminished by deletion of the NF-κB binding site from this construct. FW treatment altered the distribution of both the p65 and p50 subunits. P65, which was localized in the nucleus during the resting state, moved to the cytoplasm after FW treatment, whereas, p50, localized in the cytoplasm during the resting state, moved to the nucleus subsequent to FW treatment. CONCLUSIONS: The results from this study indicate that FW might inhibit spontaneous IL-8 secretion by redistribution of the NF-κB subunits within the cells.

Effect of ionomycin on interaction of calnexin with vesicular stomatitis virus glycoprotein is cell type-specific.

Ionomycin is a calcium ionophore that induces release of calcium ions (Ca(2+)) from cellular storage to cytoplasm and Ca(2+) influx from the outside of the cell. We investigated the effect of ionomycin on endoplasmic reticulum (ER)-Golgi transport in the vesicular stomatitis virus glycoprotein (VSV-G) system. Ionomycin inhibited transport of VSV-G in a concentration-dependent manner in baby hamster kidney (BHK) cells and HeLa cells. Half-maximum inhibition was observed at 5 µM. The inhibitory effect of ionomycin was not dependent on the cytoplasmic portion. Chelation of Ca(2+) in culture medium did not affect transport efficiency, but co-incubation with ionomycin completely shut off transport. These findings highlight the importance of Ca(2+) release from cellular storage. Because the inhibitory effect of ionomycin was expected to be dependent on mutual interaction of VSV-G and the ER chaperone calnexin, we further investigated interaction kinetics. In HeLa cells but not BHK cells the interaction of VSV-G and calnexin was prolonged in the presence of ionomycin. Taken together, the present results indicate that, by releasing Ca(2+) from cellular storage, ionomycin inhibits ER-Golgi transport by interfering with the release of VSV-G from calnexin in HeLa cells. A mechanism of cell type-dependent ER-Golgi transport regulation was revealed.

Cancer cell-derived IL-8 induces monocytic THP1 cells to secrete IL-8 via the mitogen-activated protein kinase pathway.

Aberrant activity of transcription factors in oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) results in the spontaneous secretion of various cytokines and chemokines. Among them, IL-8, owing to its angiogenic activity, promotes the growth of OSCCs. In the present study, we examined the role of IL-8 secreted by OSCCs, on the angiogenic activity of monocytic THP1 cells. Culture supernatant (Ca-sup) augmented IL-8 secretion by THP1 cells, which was found to be significantly reduced following the removal Ca9-22-derived IL-8 from the Ca-sup. IL-8 induction was regulated at the transcriptional level, because real-time PCR demonstrated the augmented IL-8 messenger RNA (mRNA) expression. We further performed the luciferase assay using the 5'-untranslated region of IL-8 gene. Contradictory to our speculations, luciferase activity was not augmented by Ca-sup stimulation. NF-κB-independent IL-8 induction was further confirmed by pre-treating THP1 cells with NF-κB-specific inhibitors. To elucidate the signaling pathway, THP1 was pre-treated with MEK inhibitors. The results demonstrated that pre-treatment of cells with MEK inhibitor drastically reduced IL-8 levels, suggesting the role of MEK. Moreover, Ca-sup was found to increase ERK1/2 phosphorylation in a time-dependent manner. These results indicated that OSCC-derived IL-8 appears to activate angiogenic activity in monocytes within the tumor microenvironment via the mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) pathway.

Distinct signaling pathways leading to the induction of human ß-defensin 2 by stimulating an electrolyticaly-generated acid functional water and double strand RNA in oral epithelial cells.

Defensins, a major family of cationic antimicrobial peptides, play important roles in innate immunity. In the present study, we investigated whether double-stranded RNA (dsRNA), a by-product of RNA virus replication, can induce human ß-defensins-2 (hBD-2) expression in oral epithelial cells (OECs). We also examined the hBD-2-inducible activity of acid-electrolyzed functional water (FW). The results indicated that both dsRNA- and FW-induced hBD-2 expression in OECs. The induction efficiency was much higher for FW than for dsRNA. FW-induced production of hBD-2 was clearly observed by immunofluorescence staining. A luciferase assay was performed with 1.2 kb of the 5'-untranslated region (5'-UTR) of the hBD-2 gene. The results indicated that the nuclear factor-kappa B (NF-κB)-binding site proximal to the translation initiation site was indispensable for dsRNA-stimulated hBD-2 expression, but not in the case of FW. Moreover, FW-stimulated hBD-2 expression did not depend on NF-κB activity; instead, FW inhibited NF-κB activity. Pretreatment of the cells with specific inhibitors against NF-κB further confirmed NF-κB-independent hBD-2 induction by FW. In analogy to the results for intestinal epithelial cells (IECs), the dsRNA signal, but not FW, was sensed by toll-like receptor 3 (TLR3) in OECs. These results suggested that hBD-2 expression induced by dsRNA and FW is regulated by distinct mechanisms in OECs.

Nicotine-induced expression of low-density lipoprotein receptor in oral epithelial cells.

BACKGROUND: Nicotine use is one of the most important risk factors for the development of cardiovascular and periodontal diseases. Numerous reports have suggested the possible contribution of disturbed lipid metabolism for the development of both disease groups. Despite these observations, little is known about the relationship between tobacco smoking and the development of these diseases. Our previous microarray data revealed that nicotine induced low-density lipoprotein receptor (LDLR) expression in oral epithelial cells (OECs). The aim of the present study was to confirm nicotine-mediated LDLR induction and to elucidate the signaling mechanisms leading to the augmented expression of LDLR in OECs. METHODS AND RESULTS: LDLR and nicotinic acetylcholine receptor (nAChR) subunit expression was detected by real-time PCR. The production of LDLR was demonstrated by immunofluorescence staining. nAChR-mediated LDLR induction was examined by pre-incubation of the cells with its specific inhibitor, α-bungarotoxin (α-BTX). The functional importance of transcription factor specific protein 1 (Sp1) was examined by luciferase assay, mithramycin pre-incubation or by small interfering RNA (siRNA) transfection. The specific binding of Sp1 to R3 region of LDLR 5'-untranslated region was demonstrated with electrophoretic mobility shift assay (EMSA) and streptavidin-agarose precipitation assay followed by western blotting. The results confirmed that nicotine induced LDLR expression at the transcriptional level. Nicotine was sensed by nAChR and the signal was transduced by Sp1 which bound to the R3 region of LDLR gene. Augmented production of LDLR in the gingival epithelial cells was further demonstrated by immunofluorescence staining using the gingival tissues obtained from the smoking patients. CONCLUSIONS: Taken together, the results suggested that nicotine might contribute to the development of both cardiovascular and periodontal diseases by inducing the LDLR in OECs thereby disturbing lipid metabolism.