MPC-polymer reduces adherence and biofilm formation by oral bacteria

Oral biofilms such as dental plaque cause dental caries and periodontitis, as well as aspiration pneumonia and infectious endocarditis by translocation. Hence, the suppression of oral biofilm formation is an issue of considerable importance. Mechanical removal, disinfectants, inhibition of polysaccharide formation, and artificial sugar have been used for the reduction of oral biofilm. From the viewpoint of the inhibition of bacterial adherence, we investigated whether aqueous biocompatible 2-methacryloyloxyethyl phosphorylcholine (MPC)-polymer can reduce streptococcal colonization and biofilm formation. We examined the effects of MPC-polymer on streptococcal adherence to saliva-coated hydroxyapatite and oral epithelial cells, and the adherence of Fusobacterium nucleatum to streptococcal biofilm. MPC-polymer application markedly inhibited both the adherence and biofilm formation of Streptococcus mutans on saliva-coated hydroxyapatite and streptococcal adherence to oral epithelial cells, and reduced the adherence of F. nucleatum to streptococcal biofilms. A small-scale clinical trial revealed that mouthrinsing with MPC-polymer inhibited the increase of oral bacterial numbers, especially of S. mutans. These findings suggest that MPC-polymer is a potent inhibitor of bacterial adherence and biofilm development, and may be useful to prevent dental-plaque-related diseases. (UMIN Clinical Trial Registry UMIN000003471).

Identification of chemosensitivity markers for postoperative adjuvant chemotherapy using cellular, molecular, and immunohistochemical profiles of advanced carcinomas from gastrointestinal tract

55

Background: The prediction of chemotherapeutic efficacy is a fundamental problem. We have developed an effective system to identify prediction markers based on an in vitro approach using a quantitative matrix of chemosensitivity assay (CSA) and protein expression by reverse-phase protein lysate microarrays (RPA), followed by tissue microarrays (TMA). In the present study, we attempted to identify predictive markers by extracting candidate proteins from the “chemosensitivity x protein expression matrix” of 12 cancer cell lines and 12 chemotherapeutic agents, followed by examination using TMA in post-operative adjuvant chemotherapy for advanced gastric and colorectal carcinomas.

Methods: The “chemosensitivity x protein expression matrix” was constructed using quantitative data from CSA and RPA. TMA was constructed from parafin-embedded, formalin-fixed surgically removed tissues from 30 gastric and 49 colorectal carcinomas. All subjects had received post-operative adjuvant chemotherapy. Expression and/or localization of candidate marker proteins on TMA were evaluated for the comparison of time to relapse (TTR) between the groups based on the score of each candidate marker protein.

Results: TTR was compared in each binary score for a candidate marker that showed a moderate to high correlation coefficient of the “chemosensitivity x protein expression matrix” of 144 combinations. Among these candidate combinations, it was found that the presence/absence of NFkB protein nuclear localization and the TTR of those patients who received 5-FU based adjuvant chemotherapy differed significantly. The three-year relapse rate was 28% in NFkB absent cases, whereas it was 84% in the present cases.

Conclusions: We identified NFkB nuclear localization as an effective 5-FU based chemotherapeutic prediction marker in the context of gastrointestinal post-operative adjuvant chemotherapy. The combination of CSA, RPA, and TMA technologies may allow rapid identification of chemotherapeutic prediction markers.

No significant financial relationships to disclose.

Long-term stable obesity increases risk of hypertension

OBJECTIVES

Although some prospective cohort studies have shown that baseline BMI is positively associated with a future incident risk for hypertension, these studies do not account for weight changes during the observation period. Therefore, it is not evident whether future incident risk for hypertension in obese, non-hypertensive people increases when their weight remains stable. We examined the association between long-term weight stability and risk for developing hypertension.

METHODS

A total of 5201 Japanese male workers aged 30-59 years underwent health checkups in 2002 and were followed through 2006. To consider transitions in covariates during the follow-up period, we used a time-dependent covariate Cox proportional hazard model to compute the relative risks (RRs) of incident hypertension. Furthermore, as a complementary analysis, we restricted the data to individuals whose BMI remained unchanged (± 5% of baseline BMI) during the follow-up and compared the RRs between BMI categories.

RESULTS

During the follow-up, there were 899 newly diagnosed cases of hypertension among the 5201 men (14,888 person-years). Mean change in BMI during the follow-up period of all subjects was 0.2 ± 1.1 kg/m(2) (range: -6.6 to 6.3 kg/m(2)). The multivariate RRs for hypertension increased as BMI increased when we applied the time-dependent covariate Cox proportional hazard model. The complementary analysis showed that the multivariate RR (confidence interval) within the ≥ 27.0 kg/m(2) BMI category was 1.43 (1.16-1.77) times higher than the reference of 23.0-24.9 kg/m(2), whereas the RR for the <21.0 kg/m(2) BMI category was 0.63 (0.51-0.79) times lower than the reference.

CONCLUSIONS

A higher baseline BMI increases future incident risk for hypertension even when there has been no major weight increase. Weight management should be encouraged for obese, non-hypertensive people to prevent future hypertension.

Proinflammatory effects of muramyldipeptide on human gingival fibroblasts

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE

Because human gingival fibroblasts (HGFs) are the predominant cells in periodontal tissues, we hypothesized that HGFs are contributed to receptors for components of bacteria. In this study, we focused on expression and function of nucleotide binding oligomerization domain 2 (NOD2) in HGFs, which is a mammalian cytosolic pathogen recognition molecule.

MATERIAL AND METHODS

Expression of NOD2 in HGFs was examined by reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) and flow cytometry. Production of interleukin (IL)-6, IL-8, cc chemokine ligand2, cxc chemokine ligand10 (CXCL10) and CXCL11 from HGFs was examined by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). We used RT-PCR and immunohistochemistry to detect the NOD2 expression in human gingival tissues.

RESULTS

We found clear NOD2 expression in HGFs. Upon stimulation with NOD2 agonist, muramyldipeptide (MDP), production of proinflammatory cytokines was enhanced. Moreover, MDP-induced production of proinflammatory cytokines was inhibited in a different manner by mitogen-activated protein kinase inhibitors and phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase inhibitor. Furthermore, MDP enhanced CXCL10 and CXCL11 productions by tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-alpha)- or interferon-gamma (IFN-gamma)-stimulated HGFs, although MDP alone did not induce these chemokines. TNF-alpha and IFN-gamma increased NOD2 expression in HGFs. In addition, we detected NOD2 expression in mononuclear cells and HGFs in periodontally diseased tissues.

CONCLUSION

These findings indicate that MDP which induces production of cytokines and chemokines from HGFs is related to the pathogenesis of periodontal disease.

An increase in high-density lipoprotein cholesterol after weight loss intervention is associated with long-term maintenance of reduced visceral abdominal fat

OBJECTIVES

It is generally agreed that excess abdominal fat, in particular visceral abdominal fat (VAF), is related to an increased risk for obesity-related complications. We examined the association between metabolic risk factors and maintaining VAF after weight loss intervention.

METHODS

A total of 54 postmenopausal, obese women who achieved a VAF loss of at least 10% from their baseline values during a 14-week intervention were enrolled as subjects. Body weight, VAF assessed by CT scans, and metabolic risk factors (that is, blood pressure, lipids and glucose) were measured at baseline (week 0), post-intervention (week 15), and at a 2-year follow-up (week 105). The subjects were divided into two groups according to their changes in VAF between weeks 15 and 105 (follow-up period): (1) VAF gainers (VAF changes > 0 cm², n=28) or (2) VAF maintainers (VAF changes ≤ 0 cm², n=26).

RESULTS

The mean change in VAF of all subjects during the 14-week intervention was -34±16 cm² (-29.7±12.3%) (P<0.01). Along with this change, improvements (P<0.05) were observed in all metabolic risk factors except for high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDLC). During the follow-up period, there were interactions between the two VAF groups in HDLC, triglycerides (TG) and total cholesterol (TC)/HDLC ratio (all P<0.01). In particular, the HDLC of VAF maintainers improved, and the value at week 105 exceeded baseline level (P<0.01). However, systolic and diastolic blood pressure, TC and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol in the VAF maintainers increased (all P<0.05) back to their mean baseline level despite a further decrease in their VAF during the follow-up period (P<0.01).

CONCLUSIONS

This study shows that long-term maintenance of VAF after weight loss intervention is associated with improvements in HDLC and TG among obese, postmenopausal women.

The epidemiology of sepsis in a Brazilian teaching hospital

OBJECTIVES

The objective of this study was to estimate disease incidence and mortality rate of sepsis in a tertiary public hospital.

METHODS

Patients admitted to the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) in 2004 and 2005 were monitored for sepsis using an observational longitudinal study design. Patients were monitored daily for diagnostic criteria of sepsis, according to ACCP/SCCM Consensus Conference criteria, until either death or hospital discharge.

RESULTS

During the study, we analyzed 1,179 patients. Systemic Inflammatory Response Syndrome (SIRS) was present in 1,048 (88.9%) patients on admission, and was associated with infection in 554 (47.0%) patients. Of these, sepsis was diagnosed in 30 (2.5%) patients, while severe sepsis was diagnosed in 269 (22.8%) patients, and septic shock was diagnosed in 255 (21.6%) patients. APACHE II and SOFA scores were higher in septic patients (p < 0.001), and the ensuing mortality rates were 32.8% (IC 95%: 21.6-45.7%) for patients with sepsis, 49.9% (IC 95%: 44.5-55.2%) for severe sepsis, and 72.7% (IC 95%: 68.1-76.9%) for septic shock.

CONCLUSIONS

The data from our study revealed a high incidence of sepsis among hospitalized patients. Moreover, sepsis patients had a high rate of mortality.

Gypsum and organic matter distribution in a mixed construction and demolition waste sorting process and their possible removal from outputs

With insufficient source separation, construction and demolition (C&D) waste becomes a mixed material that is difficult to recycle. Treatment of mixed C&D waste generates residue that contains gypsum and organic matter and poses a risk of H(2)S formation in landfills. Therefore, removing gypsum and organic matter from the residue is vital. This study investigated the distribution of gypsum and organic matter in a sorting process. Heavy liquid separation was used to determine the density ranges in which gypsum and organic matter were most concentrated. The fine residue that was separated before shredding accounted for 27.9% of the waste mass and contained the greatest quantity of gypsum; therefore, most of the gypsum (52.4%) was distributed in this fraction. When this fine fraction was subjected to heavy liquid separation, 93% of the gypsum was concentrated in the density range of 1.59-2.28, which contained 24% of the total waste mass. Therefore, removing this density range after segregating fine particles should reduce the amount of gypsum sent to landfills. Organic matter tends to float as density increases; nevertheless, separation at 1.0 density could be more efficient.

Factors associated with seropositivity for anti-Toxoplasma gondii antibodies in pregnant women of Londrina, Paraná, Brazil

The aim of this study was to evaluate associations between seropositivity for IgG and IgM anti-Toxoplasma gondii antibodies and socio-economic and environmental variables in pregnant women of Londrina, state of Paraná, Brazil. We interviewed 492 pregnant women, each of whom answered an epidemiological questionnaire, and collected blood samples for measurement of IgG and IgM anti-T. gondii antibodies by chemiluminescence. A confirmatory diagnosis of acute infection was made by an IgG avidity test. Titres of specific IgG anti-T. gondii were obtained by IFAT. Seropositivity for IgG anti-T. gondii antibodies was observed in 242 women (49.2%) and, of these, six pregnant women (1.2%) showed seropositivity for IgM. Age group, level of education, per capita income, presence of a cat in the house and a habit of eating green vegetables were all factors associated with a greater chance of infection with T. gondii. This study showed that 250 (50.8%) pregnant women were susceptible to T. gondii and considered to be at high risk for toxoplasmosis during pregnancy. Based on the results obtained, is critical to establish a program of health surveillance for toxoplasmosis, in order to contribute to diagnosis and early treatment during the prenatal period. It is also necessary to introduce measures to prevent the Toxoplasma infection in seronegative pregnant women.

Roles of TLR2, TLR4, NOD2, and NOD1 in Pulp Fibroblasts

Pulp fibroblasts express various pro-inflammatory mediators leading to marked infiltration of inflammatory cells in the progression of pulpitis. We hypothesized that pulp fibroblasts play roles in the recognition of invaded caries-related bacteria and the subsequent innate immune responses. We found clear expressions of TLR2, NOD1, and NOD2 and a faint expression of TLR4 in human dental pulp fibroblasts (HDPF) by RT-PCR and flow cytometry. We also observed that various pro-inflammatory mediators, including cytokines, chemokines, adhesion molecules, prostaglandin E2 and its key enzyme COX-2, not iNOS or caspase-1, were markedly up-regulated by stimulation with these TLR and NOD agonists. More over, the NOD2 agonist acted synergistically with the TLR2, not the TLR4, agonist to stimulate the production of pro-inflammatory mediators in HDPF. These findings indicate that TLR2, TLR4, NOD2, and NOD1 in HDPF are functional receptors, and NOD2 is a modulator of signals transmitted through TLR2 in pulpal immune responses, leading to progressive pulpitis.

Evaluation of seminal citrate level by 1H nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy in men with spinal cord injury

STUDY DESIGN

A case-control evaluating seminal citrate in patients with spinal cord injury (SCI).

OBJECTIVE

Several studies have shown neurological prostatic dysfunction in patients with SCI, as confirmed by low levels of seminal prostate-specific antigen (PSA), which is used as a parameter of gland activity. However, seminal citrate, produced almost exclusively by the prostate, could also be used as a marker of prostate function. Thus, the objective of this study was to determine whether SCI causes any changes in seminal citrate concentration and to compare the results obtained for patients and healthy men (controls).

SETTING

The study was carried out in Brazil.

METHODS

We studied 30 men with SCI aged on average 37.77+/-10.04 years and 30 controls aged on average 38.03+/-10.06 years. Blood and semen samples were collected after 3 days of abstinence from ejaculation. Fifteen minutes after collection, semen was stored in liquid nitrogen and the samples were submitted to (1)H nuclear magnetic resonance ((1)H NMR). Serum was stored at a controlled temperature of -70 to -79 degrees C and later used for the determination of testosterone, prolactin and total PSA using an AxSYM instrument and Abbott reagents.

RESULTS

The median concentration of seminal citrate was significantly lower in patients than in controls (521.65 versus 858.30 mg per 100 ml, P<0.001).

CONCLUSIONS

Patients with SCI have a significant reduction of seminal citrate as a consequence of neurological dysfunction of the prostate.

Estimation of water movement in a closed landfill based on tracer tests in gas vents and changes in leachate quality

Leachate accumulated at the Nakazono Landfill in Asahikawa, Japan due to an inadequate leachate collection and drainage system. To reduce the level of leachate in the landfill and promote the stabilization of waste, many passive gas vents were installed in addition to leachate collection vaults. This study evaluated the distribution and movement of leachate in the landfill by measuring leachate levels and conducting tracer tests in the gas vents. Water levels varied widely among gas vents and depended mainly on the vent's original ground level and depth. Leachate velocity varied greatly; it was high in the upper layers of the saturated zone in a gas vent, but this was only a superficial velocity caused by inflow from unsaturated layers. A sharp decrease in total organic carbon observed in most gas vents after installation was likely due to the effect of aerobic biodegradation in the unsaturated waste layer. This effect was limited to a small aerobic zone around the gas vent.