ABSTRACT
@#Introduction: Anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) tear is the most common knee ligament injury, especially in athletes. The objective of this study was to investigate relative telomere length (RTL) in blood leukocytes of patients with ACL injury compared with that of controls. Materials and Methods: A total of 187 subjects were invited to participate in this study. Ninety-two patients with clinically diagnosed ACL rupture were enrolled. Ninety-five age and gender-matched healthy controls were also recruited. Blood leukocyte RTL were analysed using quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction. Results:Patients with ACL rupture had significantly longer relative telomere length than healthy controls (P=0.002). The patients with ACL rupture were classified into two groups according to the sport history of patients which are contact sports and non-contact sports. RTL in patients with non-contact sports was significantly greater than those with contact sports (P=0.006). Moreover, RTL was inversely correlated with body mass index of patients with ACL injury (r=-0.34, P=0.001). Logistic regression analysis indicated that long RTL was associated with a higher risk of ACL rupture. Conclusion: The present study showed that subjects with ACL rupture had significantly greater telomere length compared with their age and gender-matched controls. This finding may result from the increases in physical activity and overexpression of telomerase which acts as a protective mechanism against ACL injury. RTL in blood leukocytes is associated with a risk of ACL rupture.
ABSTRACT
Background: Stem cell factor is a pleiotropic cytokine produced by several cell types including fibroblasts, bone marrow stromal cells, mast cells, and endothelial cells. In addition, stem cell factor is an important hematopoietic growth factor, which binds to and activates the ligand for the tyrosine kinase-type receptor c-kit. Objectives: Analyze concentration of stem cell factor within gingival crevicular fluid (GCF) in both periodontal health and disease and to determine the correlation of stem cell factor in GCF and inflammatory status of periodontal tissues. Materials and methods: Forty-five subjects (aged 24 to 75 years) were classified into the following three groups according to their periodontal tissue status as group I (clinically healthy gingiva with no loss of attachment), group II (gingivitis with no attachment loss), and group III (periodontitis). GCF samples collected from each patient were examined for stem cell factor level using enzyme-linked immunosorbant assay. Results: The maximum level of stem cell factor in GCF was obtained for group III (71.8±7.8 pg/g protein), and the lowest mean stem cell factor concentration in GCF was observed for group I (22.1±7.3 pg/g protein). The GCF stem cell factor level of patients in group III was statistically higher than that in group II (p <0.04) and group I (p <0.001). In addition, the mean GCF levels of stem cell factor in group II (48.1±7.5 pg/g protein) were significantly higher than those in group I (p <0.02). There was a positive correlation between stem cell factor in GCF and gingival inflammation index (r=0.59, p <0.001) Conclusion: GCF levels of stem cell factor increased in parallel with the severity of periodontal disease. Its levels in GCF could be potentially useful as a biochemical marker of periodontal inflammation and the host response.