Omics for deciphering oral microecology / 国际口腔科学杂志·英文版

The human oral microbiome harbors one of the most diverse microbial communities in the human body, playing critical roles in oral and systemic health. Recent technological innovations are propelling the characterization and manipulation of oral microbiota. High-throughput sequencing enables comprehensive taxonomic and functional profiling of oral microbiomes. New long-read platforms improve genome assembly from complex samples. Single-cell genomics provides insights into uncultured taxa. Advanced imaging modalities including fluorescence, mass spectrometry, and Raman spectroscopy have enabled the visualization of the spatial organization and interactions of oral microbes with increasing resolution. Fluorescence techniques link phylogenetic identity with localization. Mass spectrometry imaging reveals metabolic niches and activities while Raman spectroscopy generates rapid biomolecular fingerprints for classification. Culturomics facilitates the isolation and cultivation of novel fastidious oral taxa using high-throughput approaches. Ongoing integration of these technologies holds the promise of transforming our understanding of oral microbiome assembly, gene expression, metabolites, microenvironments, virulence mechanisms, and microbe-host interfaces in the context of health and disease. However, significant knowledge gaps persist regarding community origins, developmental trajectories, homeostasis versus dysbiosis triggers, functional biomarkers, and strategies to deliberately reshape the oral microbiome for therapeutic benefit. The convergence of sequencing, imaging, cultureomics, synthetic systems, and biomimetic models will provide unprecedented insights into the oral microbiome and offer opportunities to predict, prevent, diagnose, and treat associated oral diseases.

Artemisinins inhibit oral candidiasis caused by Candida albicans through the repression on its hyphal development / 国际口腔科学杂志·英文版

Candida albicans is the most abundant fungal species in oral cavity. As a smart opportunistic pathogen, it increases the virulence by switching its forms from yeasts to hyphae and becomes the major pathogenic agent for oral candidiasis. However, the overuse of current clinical antifungals and lack of new types of drugs highlight the challenges in the antifungal treatments because of the drug resistance and side effects. Anti-virulence strategy is proved as a practical way to develop new types of anti-infective drugs. Here, seven artemisinins, including artemisinin, dihydroartemisinin, artemisinic acid, dihydroartemisinic acid, artesunate, artemether and arteether, were employed to target at the hyphal development, the most important virulence factor of C. albicans. Artemisinins failed to affect the growth, but significantly inhibited the hyphal development of C. albicans, including the clinical azole resistant isolates, and reduced their damage to oral epithelial cells, while arteether showed the strongest activities. The transcriptome suggested that arteether could affect the energy metabolism of C. albicans. Seven artemisinins were then proved to significantly inhibit the productions of ATP and cAMP, while reduced the hyphal inhibition on RAS1 overexpression strain indicating that artemisinins regulated the Ras1-cAMP-Efg1 pathway to inhibit the hyphal development. Importantly, arteether significantly inhibited the fungal burden and infections with no systemic toxicity in the murine oropharyngeal candidiasis models in vivo caused by both fluconazole sensitive and resistant strains. Our results for the first time indicated that artemisinins can be potential antifungal compounds against C. albicans infections by targeting at its hyphal development.

Case report of pseudoelevated serum testosterone in women and literature review / 中华检验医学杂志

Objective:The characteristics of women with false elevated testosterone were analyze and the literature was reviewed to provide reference for clinical laboratory identification of false elevated testosterone.Methods:The characteristics of three patients with false elevated testosterone in Peking Union Medical College Hospital were analyzed retrospectively, and the results of different detection platforms and methods for the determination of testosterone levels were compared. International and domestic literatures related to false elevation of testosterone and detection methods of testosterone were searched for a comprehensive analysis from PUBMED and CNKI.Results:The levels of testosterone in 3 female patients were elevated by immunoassay and normal by mass spectrometry. They were excluded from the diagnosis of hyperandrogenemia. A total of 38 literatures related to testosterone detection were retrieved, of which 9 case reports of pseudohyperandrogenemia, among which 12 cases of pseudohyperandrogenemia were reported in 2 domestic literatures in 2021. All cases were confirmed by liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS). Previous studies have clearly indicated that the result of routine immunoassay in clinical laboratory for the determination of female testosterone have poor correlation with the results of LC-MS/MS, with varying degrees of deviation.Conclusions:Immunoassay tests for female testosterone is susceptible to interference and lead to elevated false results. It is suggested that clinical laboratories evaluate the detection methods used and establish a identification program, and confirm samples with suspected pseudoelevated testosterone elevation using other immune platforms or LC-MS/MS.

Nd:YAG Laser therapy device for caries control and prevention and its influence on temperature of isolated tooth pulp chamber / 国际生物医学工程杂志

Objective To analyze the influence of a dental caries phototherapy device using neodymium-yttrium-aluminum-garnet (Nd:YAG) laser on the temperature of tooth pulp chamber of different sites and morphologies under different irradiation duration and power. Methods Fifty intact isolated teeth were collected and randomly divided into middle incisor group, upper right first premolar group, upper right second molar group, upper left first premolar group, and upper left second molar group. Each experimental group was irradiated according to the laser power 1.5, 1.6, 1.7, 1.8, 1.9 and 2.0 W, and the irradiation duration 30, 60, 90 s. The temperature rise of the pulp chamber was recorded with a thermocouple thermometer. Results After the laser irradiation, the temperature of the tooth pulp chamber increased, and the temperature rise was less than 5.5℃, i.e. the threshold leading to the dental pulp necrosis. Conclusions The use of laser to prevent dental caries will increase the temperature of the tooth pulp chamber, but the temperature rise in the range of 5.5 ° C is relatively safe and will not cause irreversible damage to the pulp tissue.

Effect of laser treatment of dentin hypersensitivity on pulp chamber temperature / 国际生物医学工程杂志

Objective To compare the pulp chamber temperature changes of Nd:YAP laser, Nd:YAG laser and semiconductor laser with the same power during dentin hypersensitivity treatment, and to evaluate the safety of these three laser treatments for dentin hypersensitivity. Methods 50 intact third molars were collected to prepare the dentin hypersensitivity model. The samples were randomly divided into Nd:YAP laser group (n=15), Nd:YAG laser group (n=15), semiconductor laser group (n=15), and blank control group (n=5). Each experimental group was divided into three subgroups (n=5) of 0.9 W, 1.4 W, and 1.8 W according to the laser power. The experiments were conducted with the corresponding laser parameters and thermocouple thermometer was used to record the temperature changes in the pulp chamber. The control group does not do any processing. After laser irradiation, one sample was randomly taken from each group and the morphology of dentin tubules was observed by scanning electron microscopy. Results When different power lasers were used to irradiate the samples, the temperatures of the pulp chamber in each group were increased. Among them, the temperature rise of the pulp chamber was smallest in the Nd:YAP laser group, followed by the semiconductor laser group, and the temperature rise was highest in the Nd:YAG laser group, but it was still lower than 5.5 ° C that could cause pulp necrosis. Scanning electron microscopy results showed that after irradiation with different power lasers, the diameters of most dentinal tubules in the Nd:YAG laser group and the semiconductor laser group were narrowed or even melted, and the effect was better than that of the Nd:YAP laser group. Conclusion The treatment using Nd:YAP laser, Nd:YAG laser and semiconductor laser for dentin hypersensitivity will increase the temperature of the pulp chamber. However, the temperature rise is less than 5.5℃and that will not cause irreversible damage to the pulp tissue. Nd:YAG laser and semiconductor laser have better dentinal tubule blocking effect, which is more suitable for laser dentin desensitization treatment than Nd:YAP laser.

Effect of siRNA-mediated silencing of Notch2 on proliferation of the HepG2 human hepatocellular carcinoma cells / 中华肝脏病杂志

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To explore the effect of silencing the Notch2 gene by small interfering (si)RNA on the proliferation of the HepG2 human hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) cells.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>Notch2-siRNA was transfected as a liposomal formulation into HepG2 cells. The non-HCC cell lines SG07901 (gastric cancer) and SW620 (colon cancer) were used as controls. The mRNA expression of Notch2 and Hesl were detected by RTPCR, and the protein expression of Notch2 was detected by western blotting. The proliferation of transfected HepG2 cells was assessed by the cell counting kit-8 (CCK8) colorimetric assay.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>The untransfected HepG2 cells showed significantly upregulated transcript expression of Notch2, and not of Notch1, Notch3 or Notch4, compared to the other non-HCC cell lines. Following transfection of Noteh2-siRNA into HepG2 cells, the mRNA expression of Notch2 and Hes1 and the protein expression of Notch2 were significantly decreased. The rales of proliferation inhibition in HepG2 following transfection of Notch2-siRNA showed an increasing time-related trend, with 2.64% ± 1620% at 12 h, 38.34% ± 8.80% at 24 h, 70.05% ± 7.80% at 48 h, 70.78% ± 10.00% at 72 h, and 74.22% ± 4.80% at 96 h.The inhibition rate at 24 h of transfection was significantly different from that of the groups of control cells.</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>Notch2 is upregulated in the common HCC cultured cell line HepG2. siRNA-mediated silencing of Notch2 exerts inhibition effects on HepG2 proliferation, suggesting the potential for this approach as targeted therapy for treating HCC.</p>

Comparative analysis of immunological characteristics of patients with mild and severe influenza A (H1 N1) / 中华微生物学和免疫学杂志

Objective To comparatively analyze the immunological characteristics of patients with mild and severe influenza A (H1N1), and to provide the evidence for condition monitoring and treatment . Methods 52 cases with mild influenza A ( H1N1), 152 cases with severe influenza A ( H1N1) and 26 healthy subjects from July 1, 2009 to December 31, 2009 were enrolled in the study.Lymphocyte subsets in peripheral blood were analyzed by flow cytometry and the serum concentrations of interferon -γ( IFN-γ) and interleukin-4 (IL-4) were detected by enzyme-linked immune-sorbent assay (ELISA).Results The total lymphocyte counts were decreased obviously in patients with severe influenza A ( H1N1) than in mild pa-tients and in healthy subjects (P0.05).Con-clusion Immune dysfunction in patients with influenza A (H1N1) infection is associated with the severity of disease, especially cellular immunity .Therefore, monitoring of the immune system is valuable for the diag-nosis of influenza A(H1N1) infection.

Relationship between genetic instability of nm23H1 gene and clinical pathological characteristic in hepatocellular carcinoma / 中国病理生理杂志

AIM:The aim of this study was to examine the microstatellite instability(MSI)and loss of heterozygosity(LOH)of locus D17S396 on chromosome 17 and their influence on the expression of nm23H1 in hepatocellular carcinoma(HCC),which may provide experimental evidence for the mechanism of nm23H1 gene and tumor metastasis.METHODS:Techniques such as DNA extraction from formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded tissues,PCR-SSCP,ordinary silver stain were used to study MSI and LOH of locus D17S396.Envision immunohistochemistry and Leica-Qwin computer imaging techniques were used to assess the expression of nm23H1.RESULTS:① The frequency of heredity instability of HCCs was 35.42%.The frequency of LOH in the cases with lymph node or distant organs metastasis or not and with intrahepatic metastasis or embolus of portal vein or not was significantly different(P

The specific T cell response in mice inoculated with HBV vaccine / 中国病理生理杂志

AIM: To evaluate the specific cellular immune response in mice inoculated with the recombinant hepatitis B virus (HBV) surface vaccine (rHBs). METHODS: Spleen T lymphocyte reactivity to rHBs was assessed by a proliferation assay and cytokine secretion. BALB/c mouse were intraperitoneally inoculated with rHBs at doses of 0.65, 1.25, 2.5 or 5 ?g for once or twice. 4 weeks later, spleen lymphocytes were harvested and restimulated with rHBs in experimental group or with PBS as control. The spleen lymphocytes were labeled with [~3H]-thymidine for 3 days. The [~3H]-thymidine incorporation was measured, which expressed as the incorporation of [~3H] (counts?min~ -1 ) and stimulation index (SI) was calculated by the method of dividing the cpm obtained in the experimental group by that in control group. The content of IL-2 and IFN-? secreted from the spleen lymphocyte were measured by the method of ELISA. RESULTS: 2 weeks after primary vaccination, the SI in 0.65, 1.25, 2.5 and 5 groups was 1.55, 1.93, 2.41, 2.81 ng/L, respectively. IL-2 was 5.48?8.88, 9.28?6.98, 28.53?14.32, 64.69?20.88 ng/L, respectively. IFN-? was 8.22?8.61, 9.89?9.34, 20.27?15.50, 30.77?22.12 ng/L, respectively. 2 weeks after boost vaccination, the SI in 0.65, 1.25, 2.5 and 5 groups was 1.61, 2.05, 3.74, 3.62 ng/L, respectively. The IL-2 was 5.75?5.04, 102.53?67.52, 177.13?91.12, 332.10?124.31 ng/L, respectively. IFN-? was 3.63?4.42, 28.33?13.04, 59.66?25.75, 80.73?19.30 ng/L, respectively. CONCLUSION: Specific proliferation activity and IL-2, IFN-? secretion from the spleen lymphocytes of the mouse inoculated with rHBs are produced,that the strength is dependent on the dose of vaccination.