Probiotic mixture (Bacillus subtilis and Bacillus licheniformis) a potential in-feed additive to improve broiler production efficiency, nutrient digestibility, caecal microflora, meat quality and to diminish hazardous odour emission.

This research aimed to assess the impact of probiotic supplementation in the broiler diet on growth performance, nutrient utilization, noxious gas emissions, excreta micromiota and meat quality. One thousand six hundred and twenty male Ross 380 broilers (one-day-old, body weight, 42 ± 0.5 g and 5-week trial) were arbitrarily chosen and assigned to three nutritive treatments (basal diet and basal diet included with 0.1%, and 0.2% probiotic mixture [Bacillus subtilis 7.0 × 107 cfu/g, Bacillus licheniformis 4.1 × 107 cfu/g]) with 30 duplicates (18 birds each). Probiotic inclusion linearly increased (p < 0.05) broiler body weight gain (BWG) during Phases 1, 2 and the overall period and decreased (p < 0.05) feed conversion ratio (FCR) linearly on Phase 2 and the overall period. However, feed intake (FI) and mortality rate remained unaffected (p > 0.05). Though nutrient digestibility of nitrogen (N) tendency to increase (p < 0.05), dry matter (DM) and energy (E) did not influence (p > 0.05). Inclusion of a probiotic supplement linearly increased (p < 0.05) Lactobacillus and reduced Salmonella (p < 0.05) counts in broilers. Moreover, broilers fed a diet supplement with probiotic addition linearly decreased (p < 0.05) NH3 , H2 S, C2 O and acetic acid emissions. The graded level of probiotic addition linearly reduced (p < 0.05) cooking loss and the tendency to decrease (p < 0.05) weight of bursa of Fabricius, but had no effect (p > 0.05) on other meat quality measures. These findings indicated that increasing the level of probiotics in feed could improve growth efficiency, nutrient absorption, microbial index, meat quality and reduce gas emissions in broilers.

CYPminer: an automated cytochrome P450 identification, classification, and data analysis tool for genome data sets across kingdoms.

BACKGROUND: Cytochrome P450 monooxygenases (termed CYPs or P450s) are hemoproteins ubiquitously found across all kingdoms, playing a central role in intracellular metabolism, especially in metabolism of drugs and xenobiotics. The explosive growth of genome sequencing brings a new set of challenges and issues for researchers, such as a systematic investigation of CYPs across all kingdoms in terms of identification, classification, and pan-CYPome analyses. Such investigation requires an automated tool that can handle an enormous amount of sequencing data in a timely manner. RESULTS: CYPminer was developed in the Python language to facilitate rapid, comprehensive analysis of CYPs from genomes of all kingdoms. CYPminer consists of two procedures i) to generate the Genome-CYP Matrix (GCM) that lists all occurrences of CYPs across the genomes, and ii) to perform analyses and visualization of the GCM, including pan-CYPomes (pan- and core-CYPome), CYP co-occurrence networks, CYP clouds, and genome clustering data. The performance of CYPminer was evaluated with three datasets from fungal and bacterial genome sequences. CONCLUSIONS: CYPminer completes CYP analyses for large-scale genomes from all kingdoms, which allows systematic genome annotation and comparative insights for CYPs. CYPminer also can be extended and adapted easily for broader usage.

Effect of dietary supplemental medium chain fatty acids instead of antibiotics on the growth performance, digestibility and blood profiles in growing pigs.

Antibiotics have great functions in farm animal. However, the harm of antibiotics can't be ignored. The effects of medium-chain fatty acids (MCFAs) supplementation to basal diet instead of antibiotics (CSP, Chlortetracycline, sulphonamide dimethazine and procaine penicillin, 1:1:1) on growth performance, nutrient digestibility and blood profile in growing pigs were studied. A total of 140 growing pigs (Landrace × Yorkshire × Duroc) with an average body weight of 27.84 ± 0.42 kg were allotted to four treatments of seven replicates/treatment and five pigs/replicate. The four experimental diets included: CON (basal diet, non-antibiotic, negative control); CSP (CON + CSP 0.1%, positive control); M1 (CON + MCFA 0.15%) and M2 (CON + MCFA 0.3%). After 5 weeks, the fresh faecal and blood samples were collected from rectum and jugular vein respectively. The average daily gain (ADG) was significantly improved for pigs fed 0.3% MCFAs in relation to basal diet. Meanwhile, CSP supplementation had comparable effect on ADG. The lymphocyte percentage and IgG concentration were higher in blood of pigs-fed MCFAs in relation to that of CON and CSP treatment while white blood cell and red blood cell were not affected. In relation to basal diet and CSP treatment, the digestibility of dry matter, nitrogen and gross energy (E) were unaffected with MCFAs supplementation. In conclusion, MCFAs improved growth performance on body weight gain and immune profile. Addition 0.3% MCFAs into the diet indicated that its partial positive effect as an alternative to antibiotic.

Effects of levan-type fructan on growth performance, nutrient digestibility, diarrhoea scores, faecal shedding of total lactic acid bacteria and coliform bacteria, and faecal gas emission in weaning pigs.

BACKGROUND: The use of antibiotics as growth promoters in feed has been fully or partially banned in several countries. The objective of this study was to evaluate effects of levan-type fructan on growth performance, nutrient digestibility, faecal shedding of lactic acid bacteria and coliform bacteria, diarrhoea scores, and faecal gas emission in weaning pigs. A total of 144 weaning pigs [(Yorkshire × Landrace) × Duroc] were randomly allocated to four diets: corn-soybean meal-based diets supplemented with 0, 0.1, 0.5, or 1.0 g kg-1 levan-type fructan during this 42-day experiment. RESULTS: During days 0 to 21 and 0 to 42, average daily gain and average daily feed intake were linearly increased (P < 0.01) with increasing dietary levan-type fructan inclusion. The apparent total tract digestibility of dry matter, crude protein, and gross energy were linearly increased (P < 0.001) with increasing dietary levan-type fructan content. With increasing levels of levan-type fructan, faecal lactic acid bacteria counts were linearly increased (P = 0.001). CONCLUSION: The results indicate that dietary supplementation with increasing levan-type fructan enhanced growth performance, improved nutrient digestibility, and increased faecal lactic acid bacteria counts in weaning pigs linearly. © 2017 Society of Chemical Industry.

Comparative functional pan-genome analyses to build connections between genomic dynamics and phenotypic evolution in polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon metabolism in the genus Mycobacterium.

BACKGROUND: The bacterial genus Mycobacterium is of great interest in the medical and biotechnological fields. Despite a flood of genome sequencing and functional genomics data, significant gaps in knowledge between genome and phenome seriously hinder efforts toward the treatment of mycobacterial diseases and practical biotechnological applications. In this study, we propose the use of systematic, comparative functional pan-genomic analysis to build connections between genomic dynamics and phenotypic evolution in polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH) metabolism in the genus Mycobacterium. RESULTS: Phylogenetic, phenotypic, and genomic information for 27 completely genome-sequenced mycobacteria was systematically integrated to reconstruct a mycobacterial phenotype network (MPN) with a pan-genomic concept at a network level. In the MPN, mycobacterial phenotypes show typical scale-free relationships. PAH degradation is an isolated phenotype with the lowest connection degree, consistent with phylogenetic and environmental isolation of PAH degraders. A series of functional pan-genomic analyses provide conserved and unique types of genomic evidence for strong epistatic and pleiotropic impacts on evolutionary trajectories of the PAH-degrading phenotype. Under strong natural selection, the detailed gene gain/loss patterns from horizontal gene transfer (HGT)/deletion events hypothesize a plausible evolutionary path, an epistasis-based birth and pleiotropy-dependent death, for PAH metabolism in the genus Mycobacterium. This study generated a practical mycobacterial compendium of phenotypic and genomic changes, focusing on the PAH-degrading phenotype, with a pan-genomic perspective of the evolutionary events and the environmental challenges. CONCLUSIONS: Our findings suggest that when selection acts on PAH metabolism, only a small fraction of possible trajectories is likely to be observed, owing mainly to a combination of the ambiguous phenotypic effects of PAHs and the corresponding pleiotropy- and epistasis-dependent evolutionary adaptation. Evolutionary constraints on the selection of trajectories, like those seen in PAH-degrading phenotypes, are likely to apply to the evolution of other phenotypes in the genus Mycobacterium.

Evaluation of stability changes in magnesium-incorporated titanium implants in the early healing period.

The aim of the present study was to determine the bone response to magnesium (Mg) ion-incorporated titanium (Ti) implants during the early healing period. A total of 114 patients (69 men and 45 women aged between 29 and 71 years) participated in the study. Overall, one hundred thirty-three 10-mm-long fixtures were installed, composed of 65 Mg ion-incorporated fixtures in the test group (55 participants; 30 males and 25 females) and 68 resorbable blast media (RBM) surface fixtures in the control group (59 participants; 39 males and 20 females). The bone responses were evaluated by resonance frequency analysis (RFA) at the following time points after implant insertion (ie, the healing period): 0, 2, 4, 8, and 12 weeks. Each time an RFA measurement was taken, the stability changes relating to both bone quality and implant arch location (maxilla or mandible) were recorded for further analysis. The mean stabilities were lowest at week 4 of healing for both the test and control groups. Significant differences in RFA values between the 2 groups were found at week 12 of healing. The mean percentage change in implant stability quotient (ISQ) from the baseline revealed that the implant stability of the Mg ion-incorporated test group had increased (4.55%) more than the RBM surface group (2.23%) by week 12 of healing. With respect to bone quality, the mean ISQ of Mg-incorporated Ti implants only changed significantly during the 12-week period for type 4 bone. Furthermore, at weeks 4 and 12 of healing, significant differences were found between the 2 groups for type 2 and type 4 bone. A comparison of the stability patterns of mandibular and maxillary implants revealed that the overall stability was higher in the mandible; however, no significant difference was found for Mg-incorporated Ti implants. The Mg-incorporated Ti implants exhibited a slightly better bone response with respect to ISQ than did the RBM surface implants, and the percentage change in mean ISQ from the baseline was greater for the Mg-incorporated group than for the RBM surface group at the end point of this study.

Anti-Inflammatory Efficacy of Human-Derived Streptococcus salivarius on Periodontopathogen-Induced Inflammation.

Streptococcus salivarius is a beneficial bacterium in oral cavity, and some strains of this bacterium are known to be probiotics. The purpose of this study was to investigate the anti-inflammatory effect and mechanism of S. salivarius G7 lipoteichoic acid (LTA) on lipopolysaccharide (LPS) and LTA of periodontopathogens. The surface molecules of S. salivarius G7 was extracted, and single- or co-treated on human monocytic cells with LPS and LTA of periodontopathogens. The induction of cytokine expression was evaluated by real-time PCR and ELISA. After labeling fluorescence on LPS and LTA of periodontopathogens, it was co-treated with S. salivarius LTA to the cell. The bound LPS and LTA were measured by a flow cytometer. Also, the biding assay of the LPS and LTA to CD14 and LPS binding protein (LBP) was performed. The surface molecules of S. salivarius G7 did not induce the expression of inflammatory cytokines, and S. salivarius G7 LTA inhibited the inflammatory cytokines induced by LPS and LTA of periodontopathogens. S. salivarius G7 LTA inhibited the binding of its LPS and LTA to cells. Also, S. salivarius G7 LTA blocked the binding of its LPS and LTA to CD14 and LBP. S. salivarius G7 has an inhibitory effect on inflammation induced by LPS or LTA of periodontopathogens, and may be a candidate probiotics for prevention of periodontitis.

CPGminer: An Interactive Dashboard to Explore the Genomic Features and Taxonomy of Complete Prokaryotic Genomes.

Prokaryotes, the earliest forms of life on Earth, play crucial roles in global biogeochemical processes in virtually all ecosystems. The ever-increasing amount of prokaryotic genome sequencing data provides a wealth of information to examine fundamental and applied questions through systematic genome comparison. Genomic features, such as genome size and GC content, and taxonomy-centric genomic features of complete prokaryotic genomes (CPGs) are crucial for various fields of microbial research and education, yet they are often overlooked. Additionally, creating systematically curated datasets that align with research concerns is an essential yet challenging task for wet-lab researchers. In this study, we introduce CPGminer, a user-friendly tool that allows researchers to quickly and easily examine the genomic features and taxonomy of CPGs and curate genome datasets. We also provide several examples to demonstrate its practical utility in addressing descriptive questions.

Effective microbial molecular diagnosis of periodontitis-related pathogen Porphyromonas gingivalis from salivary samples using rgpA gene.

Importance of accurate molecular diagnosis and quantification of particular disease-related pathogenic microorganisms is highlighted as an introductory step to prevent and care for diseases. In this study, we designed a primer/probe set for quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR) targeting rgpA gene, known as the specific virulence factor of periodontitis-related pathogenic bacteria 'Porphyromonas gingivalis', and evaluated its diagnostic efficiency by detecting and quantifying relative bacterial load of P. gingivalis within saliva samples collected from clinical subjects. As a result of qRT-PCR, we confirmed that relative bacterial load of P. gingivalis was detected and quantified within all samples of positive control and periodontitis groups. On the contrary, negative results were confirmed in both negative control and healthy groups. Additionally, as a result of comparison with next-generation sequencing (NGS)-based 16S metagenome profiling data, we confirmed relative bacterial load of P. gingivalis, which was not identified on bacterial classification table created through 16S microbiome analysis, in qRT-PCR results. It showed that an approach to quantifying specific microorganisms by applying qRT-PCR method could solve microbial misclassification issues at species level of an NGS-based 16S microbiome study. In this respect, we suggest that P. gingivalis-specific primer/probe set introduced in present study has efficient applicability in various oral healthcare industries, including periodontitis-related microbial molecular diagnosis field.

Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon metabolic network in Mycobacterium vanbaalenii PYR-1.

This study investigated a metabolic network (MN) from Mycobacterium vanbaalenii PYR-1 for polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) from the perspective of structure, behavior, and evolution, in which multilayer omics data are integrated. Initially, we utilized a high-throughput proteomic analysis to assess the protein expression response of M. vanbaalenii PYR-1 to seven different aromatic compounds. A total of 3,431 proteins (57.38% of the genome-predicted proteins) were identified, which included 160 proteins that seemed to be involved in the degradation of aromatic hydrocarbons. Based on the proteomic data and the previous metabolic, biochemical, physiological, and genomic information, we reconstructed an experiment-based system-level PAH-MN. The structure of PAH-MN, with 183 metabolic compounds and 224 chemical reactions, has a typical scale-free nature. The behavior and evolution of the PAH-MN reveals a hierarchical modularity with funnel effects in structure/function and intimate association with evolutionary modules of the functional modules, which are the ring cleavage process (RCP), side chain process (SCP), and central aromatic process (CAP). The 189 commonly upregulated proteins in all aromatic hydrocarbon treatments provide insights into the global adaptation to facilitate the PAH metabolism. Taken together, the findings of our study provide the hierarchical viewpoint from genes/proteins/metabolites to the network via functional modules of the PAH-MN equipped with the engineering-driven approaches of modularization and rationalization, which may expand our understanding of the metabolic potential of M. vanbaalenii PYR-1 for bioremediation applications.

Aerosol deposition of hydroxyapatite and 4-hexylresorcinol coatings on titanium alloys for dental implants.

PURPOSE: Aerosol deposition is a newly developed technique, and it can deliver the drug from a hydroxyapatite (HA)-coated surface. 4-Hexylresorcinol (4-HR) is a well-known antiseptic. The influence of the 4-HR component of HA coatings on titanium surfaces was studied in vitro and in vivo. MATERIALS AND METHODS: X-ray diffraction and Fourier transform infrared techniques were used for the evaluation of the coating. The cellular response of the coating was evaluated by scanning electron microscopic study, MTT assay, alkaline phosphatase assay, and osteocalcin assay. In addition, the dental implant was coated with HA or HA + 4-HR. The implant was installed into the tibia of a rabbit after contamination by Aggregatibacter actinomycetemcomitans. The torque test and histologic analysis were then performed at 8 weeks after the operation. RESULTS: By use of an aerosol deposition technique, the combination of HA and 4-HR was successfully coated onto a titanium surface, which was confirmed by x-ray diffraction and Fourier transform infrared techniques. MG63 cells attached more rapidly to the HA + 4-HR coating than to the HA-only coating. The HA + 4-HR coating had significantly increased osteocalcin expression and alkaline phosphatase activity compared with the HA-only coating (P < .05). The dental implant coated with HA + 4-HR had a significantly higher removal torque value than that coated with HA alone at 8 weeks after surgery (P < .05). On histologic analysis, both the bone formation value and the bone-to-implant contact value were significantly higher in the HA + 4-HR group than in the HA-only group at 8 weeks after surgery (P < .05). CONCLUSIONS: Collectively, the HA + 4-HR-coated dental implant had clear advantages over the HA-coated dental implant. Therefore HA + 4-HR coatings can be considered for patients who need immediate implant installation after tooth extraction or who have poor-quality bone.

Characteristics of Treponema denticola lipooligosaccharide in presence of hemin and quorum-sensing molecule.

OBJECTIVES: The study aimed to examine the diverse bioactivity of lipooligosaccharide extracted from T. denticola cultured in the presence of hemin and quorum-sensing inhibitor. DESIGN: T. denticola was cultured in the presence or absence hemin or 2(5 H)-furanone, and lipooligosaccharide from T. denticola cultured in various conditions was extracted using an extraction kit. To investigate bioactivity of the lipooligosaccharide, human gingival fibroblasts (HGFs) were treated with the extracted lipooligosaccharide in the presence or absence of Tannerella forsythia lipopolysaccharide. The induction of cytokine expressions was investigated by real-time RT-PCR and ELISA, and the signaling pathway was examined by immunoblotting. To investigate antagonistic mechanisms of the lipooligosaccharide, HGFs were cotreated with fluorescence-labeled T. forsythia lipopolysaccharide and the extracted lipooligosaccharide. Binding of T. forsythia lipopolysaccharide to the cell was analyzed by a flow cytometer. RESULTS: Lipooligosaccharide induced a low level of cytokine expression at high concentration of hemin or 2(5 H)-furanone. Lipooligosaccharide extracted from T. denticola cultured in higher concentration of hemin and 2(5 H)-furanone had a greater inhibitory effect on induction of cytokine expression by T. forsythia lipopolysaccharide. Further, lipooligosaccharide inhibited the activation of NF-κB and mitogen-activated protein kinase signaling pathways by T. forsythia lipopolysaccharide. Lipooligosaccharide inhibited the binding of T. forsythia lipopolysaccharide to HGFs in the presence of CD14 and LBP. CONCLUSIONS: The characteristics of T. denticola lipooligosaccharide may be altered by bacterial communication and host factors.

Development of strain-specific PCR primers for the identification of Fusobacterium nucleatum subsp. fusiforme ATCC 51190(T) and subsp. vincentii ATCC 49256(T).

The objective of this study was to develop the strain-specific PCR primers for Fusobacterium nucleatum subsp. fusiforme ATCC 51190(T) and F. nucleatum subsp. vincentii ATCC 49256(T) based on the nucleotide sequence of the Fs17 and Fv35 DNA probes, respectively. The strain specificity was tested against 10 type strains of Fusobacterium spp. or subsp., 21 clinical isolates of F. nucleatum from Koreans, and five type strains of distinct Fusobacterium species. Primer sensitivity was determined by testing serial dilutions (4 ng-4 fg) of the purified genomic DNA from each of the type strains. PCR showed that two pairs of PCR primers, Fs17-F14/Fs17-R14 and Fv35-F1/Fv35-R1 primers, could produce strain-specific amplicons from F. nucleatum subsp. fusiforme ATCC 51190(T) and F. nucleatum subsp. vincentii ATCC 49256(T), respectively. The two PCR primer sets could detect as little as 0.4 pg or 4 pg of the genomic DNA of each target strain. These results suggest that the two sets of PCR primers could be used to identify F. nucleatum subsp. fusiforme ATCC 51190(T) and F. nucleatum subsp. vincentii ATCC 49256(T), particularly for ascertaining the authenticity of the strain.

ClassRHO: a platform for classification of bacterial rieske non-heme iron ring-hydroxylating oxygenases.

We have developed an easy-to-use multiplatform classification tool, ClassRHO, which facilitates classification and comparison of bacterial Rieske non-heme iron aromatic ring-hydroxylating oxygenases (RHOs). Visualization and analysis can be generated on-the-fly by entering or uploading RHO query sequences. Pre-computed classifications were implemented for 42 standard RHO sequences. These 42 RHO sequences can be flexibly selected based on user requests. ClassRHO provides users with many options to view and analyze RHO sequences.

A new classification system for bacterial Rieske non-heme iron aromatic ring-hydroxylating oxygenases.

BACKGROUND: Rieske non-heme iron aromatic ring-hydroxylating oxygenases (RHOs) are multi-component enzyme systems that are remarkably diverse in bacteria isolated from diverse habitats. Since the first classification in 1990, there has been a need to devise a new classification scheme for these enzymes because many RHOs have been discovered, which do not belong to any group in the previous classification. Here, we present a scheme for classification of RHOs reflecting new sequence information and interactions between RHO enzyme components. RESULT: We have analyzed a total of 130 RHO enzymes in which 25 well-characterized RHO enzymes were used as standards to test our hypothesis for the proposed classification system. From the sequence analysis of electron transport chain (ETC) components of the standard RHOs, we extracted classification keys that reflect not only the phylogenetic affiliation within each component but also relationship among components. Oxygenase components of standard RHOs were phylogenetically classified into 10 groups with the classification keys derived from ETC components. This phylogenetic classification scheme was converted to a new systematic classification consisting of 5 distinct types. The new classification system was statistically examined to justify its stability. Type I represents two-component RHO systems that consist of an oxygenase and an FNRC-type reductase. Type II contains other two-component RHO systems that consist of an oxygenase and an FNRN-type reductase. Type III represents a group of three-component RHO systems that consist of an oxygenase, a [2Fe-2S]-type ferredoxin and an FNRN-type reductase. Type IV represents another three-component systems that consist of oxygenase, [2Fe-2S]-type ferredoxin and GR-type reductase. Type V represents another different three-component systems that consist of an oxygenase, a [3Fe-4S]-type ferredoxin and a GR-type reductase. CONCLUSION: The new classification system provides the following features. First, the new classification system analyzes RHO enzymes as a whole. RwithSecond, the new classification system is not static but responds dynamically to the growing pool of RHO enzymes. Third, our classification can be applied reliably to the classification of incomplete RHOs. Fourth, the classification has direct applicability to experimental work. Fifth, the system provides new insights into the evolution of RHO systems based on enzyme interaction.

Inhibitory effect of Lactococcus lactis on the bioactivity of periodontopathogens.

Lactococcus lactis is a probiotic bacterium that produces various bacteriocins. Periodontopathogens induce inflammation and halitosis through the actions of lipopolysaccharide (LPS) and trypsin-like enzymes. The purpose of this study was to investigate the inhibitory effects of L. lactis on the bioactivity of periodontopathogens. To investigate the antimicrobial peptide of L. lactis, the spent culture medium (SCM) of L. lactis was treated with or without proteinase K after collection by centrifugation, and the antibacterial activity of SCM against periodontopathogens was assessed. To evaluate the neutralizing effect of L. lactis on halitosis, SCM of periodontopathogens was mixed with an L. lactis suspension, and the levels of volatile sulfur compounds (VSCs) were measured by gas chromatography. LPS from the periodontopathogens was extracted by an LPS extraction kit with little modification, and THP-1 cells as a monocytic cell line were treated with the extracted LPS in the presence or absence of UV-killed L. lactis. The production of inflammatory cytokines was analyzed by ELISA. The SCM of L. lactis exhibited antimicrobial activity against the periodontopathogens, whereas the proteinase K-treated SCM showed little antimicrobial activity. In addition, the L. lactis suspension had a neutralizing effect on the VSCs produced by periodontopathogens, and UV-killed L. lactis inhibited the production of IL-6 and TNF-α induced by the LPS. These results suggest that L. lactis may be a useful probiotic to prevent and treat periodontitis and halitosis.

Antimicrobial activity of NO-releasing compounds against periodontal pathogens.

This study describes the successful synthesis of nitric oxide (NO)-releasing compounds with biodegradable and injectable properties and demonstrates that the kinetics of NO release vary according to the type of NO donor. The antimicrobial activity of NO-releasing compounds against three common periodontal pathogens, i.e., Aggregatibacter actinomycetemcomitans, Porphyromonas gingivalis, and Actinomyces israelii, was investigated using a susceptibility assay. Human gingival fibroblasts were treated with NO-releasing compounds at the minimum concentrations required for bacterial growth and cytotoxicity was evaluated using the MTT cell proliferation assay. Our results suggest that NO-releasing compounds can be used topically to treat both gram-negative and gram-positive periodontal pathogens. Comparison of the antimicrobial activity and cytotoxicity assay results between the NO-releasing compounds revealed that an NO donor comprising a macromolecule without surface charge, a lower instantaneous NO concentration, and an adequate supply of NO were associated with a strong bactericidal effect and low cytotoxicity. NO-releasing compounds with these properties may be suitable for treatment of periodontitis.

Effects of mushroom, Pleurotus eryngii, extracts on bone metabolism.

We performed the present study to investigate whether Pleurotus eryngii extracts (PEX) play a role in bone metabolism. PEX treatment showed increase in the alkaline phosphatase activity of the osteoblasts and in the osteocalcin mRNA expression from primary osteoblasts. PEX also increased the expression of the Runx2 gene, and the secretion of osteoprotegerin from the osteoblasts showed marked increases after treatment with PEX. In addition, PEX treatment decreased the number of tartrate-resistant acid phosphatase (TRAP)-positive multinucleated cells and resorption areas. In vivo studies, using rats with ovariectomy-induced osteoporosis revealed that PEX alleviated the decrease in the trabecular bond mineral density.

Suppressive effect of AIF, a water extract from three herbs, on collagen-induced arthritis in mice.

AIF has been formulated using three herbs known to have anti-inflammatory and anti-osteolytic effects. In this study, the potential therapeutic effects of AIF for rheumatoid arthritis were assessed in vitro and in vivo. The effects of AIF on the inflammation (TNF-alpha, IL-1, iNO), cartilage protection (MMP-13), and selective killing of activated T cells were examined, in vitro. In addition, the therapeutic effect of AIF was evaluated using a collagen-induced arthritis (CIA) mouse model. DBA/1 mice were immunized with type II collagen. Following booster immunization, mice were treated with the oral administration of 276 mg/kg/d AIF once a day for 18 days, then, the severity of CIA was evaluated by macroscopic scoring and histopathological assessment. AIF significantly inhibited the production of TNF-alpha, IL-1, iNO, and MMP-13 in a dose dependent manner in vitro. Also, AIF killed activated T cells selectively, conserving naïve T cells. The oral administration of AIF in CIA mice suppressed the progression of CIA significantly and decreased synovial hyperplasia, cartilage destruction, and bone erosion. AIF showed potent anti-inflammatory effects in vitro and substantial protective effect for the progression of CIA in vivo. These results suggest that AIF contains effective compound(s) which may modify the progression of rheumatoid arthritis.

Effects of Streptococcus thermophilus on volatile sulfur compounds produced by Porphyromonas gingivalis.

Halitosis as oral malodour is an unpleasant odour caused by volatile sulfur compounds (VSCs). VSCs are produced primarily by anaerobic bacteria that abundantly produce proteinase as trypsin-like enzyme. General therapies, such as mouthwash and plaque control, do not provide a continuous effect on oral halitosis. Streptococcus thermophilus is a probiotic bacterium that is beneficial for human health. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of S. thermophilus on Porphyromonas gingivalis-producing VSCs and to analyze the inhibitory mechanism of halitosis. P. gingivalis was cultured with or without S. thermophilus, and the emission of VSCs from the spent culture medium was measured by gas chromatography. In order to analyze the inhibitory effect, the antibacterial activity of S. thermophilus against P. gingivalis was assessed. After the spent culture medium or whole bacterial of S. thermophilus was mixed with the spent culture medium of P. gingivalis, VSCs were again measured by gas chromatograph. When S. thermophilus and P. gingivalis were co-cultivated, VSCs were present at a lower level than those of single-cultured P. gingivalis. S. thermophilus inhibited growth of P. gingivalis, and the whole bacteria and the spent culture medium of S. thermophilus reduced emission of VSCs gas. S. thermophilus may reduce oral malodour by inhibition of P. gingivalis growth and neutralizing VSCs with their metabolites or themselves.