Survey of microbial enzymes in soil, water, and plant microenvironments.

Detection of microbial enzymes in natural environments is important to understand biochemical activities and to verify the biotechnological potential of the microorganisms. In the present report, 346 isolates from soil, water, and plants were screened for enzyme production (caseinase, gelatinase, amylase, carboxymethyl cellulase, and esterase). Our results showed that 89.6% of isolates produced at least one tested enzyme. A predominance of amylase in soil samples, carboxymethyl cellulase in plants, as well as esterase and gelatinase in water was observed. Interesting enzymatic profiles were found in some microenvironments, suggesting specificity of available nutrients and/or natural selection. This study revealed the potential of microorganisms present in water, soil, and plant to produce important enzymes for biotechnological exploration. A predominance of certain enzymes was found, depending on the type of environmental sample. The distribution of microbial enzymes in soil, water and plants has been little exploited in previous reports.

Serotonin transporter gene polymorphism (5-HTTLPR) in patients with oral lichen planus.

BACKGROUND: Considerable evidence indicates that serotonergic mechanisms, particularly the serotonin transporter (5-HTT) may be involved in psychiatric alterations. Recent findings have demonstrated that depression and stress are influenced by polymorphism of the promoter region of 5-HTT (5-HTTLPR) and that the short allele (S) is associated with reduced transcriptional efficiency resulting in reduced serotonin expression and uptake. As psychiatric and genetic factors have been implicated in the pathogenesis of oral lichen planus (OLP), the purpose of the present study was to investigate 5-HTTLPR polymorphism in patients with OLP compared to control subjects. SUBJECTS AND METHODS: Fifty-four subjects affected by OLP and 54 healthy volunteers were genotyped at 5-HTTLPR. The chi-squared test was used for statistical analysis. To investigate the association between the single nucleotide polymorphisms and risk of OLP, binary logistic regression models were fitted. RESULTS: No statistical difference was observed between the genotype and allele frequency in the group of OLP and controls (p=0.51). Moreover no association between 5HTTLPR alleles and OLP was found in the multivariate analyses. CONCLUSION: Our study demonstrates that polymorphism on the 5-HTTLPR is not associated with OLP pathogenesis.

Investigation of functional gene polymorphisms IL-1beta, IL-6, IL-10 and TNF-alpha in individuals with recurrent aphthous stomatitis.

UNLABELLED: Recurrent aphthous stomatitis (RAS) is characterized by recurrent episodes of oral ulceration in an otherwise healthy individual. Some reports in the literature indicate that RAS may have immunological, psychological, genetic and microbiological bases. OBJECTIVE: The purpose of the present study was to investigate, using binary logistic regression analyses, a possible association between the functional IL-1beta +3954 (C/T), IL-6 -174 (G/C), IL-10 -1082 (G/A) and TNF-alpha -308 (G/A) genetic polymorphism and RAS in a sample of Brazilian patients, using a multivariate statistical analysis. DESIGN: Sixty-four consecutive subjects affected by minor and major forms of RAS and 64 healthy volunteers were genotyped. To investigate the association between the single nucleotide polymorphisms and risk of RAS, binary logistic regression models were fitted. The associations were expressed by odd ratios (ORs) and adjusted for age and gender, with the corresponding 95% CIs. P-values less than 0.05 were considered significant. RESULTS: A significant increase in the IL-1beta and TNF-alpha heterozygous genotypes were associated with an increased risk of RAS development (OR 2.40 and 3.07, respectively), in the multivariate model. CONCLUSION: Our findings demonstrate that polymorphisms of high IL-1beta and TNF-alpha production were associated with an increased risk of RAS development. Our findings also give additional support to a genetic basis for RAS pathogenesis.

Interleukin-1beta and serotonin transporter gene polymorphisms in burning mouth syndrome patients.

UNLABELLED: Burning mouth syndrome (BMS) is a chronic pain syndrome that encompasses all forms of burning sensations in the oral cavity when the oral mucosa is clinically normal. Neural, psychologic, and cytokine factors may be implicated in the pathogenesis of BMS. There are no studies of genetic factors associated with psychologic behavior and cytokine pain sensitivity in BMS patients. The purpose of the present study was to investigate a possible association between functional genetic polymorphisms, +3,954 (C/T) interleukin-1beta, and the polymorphic site on promoter region of the serotonin transporter gene (5-HTTLPR) in a sample of Brazilian patients. Thirty patients affected by BMS and 31 healthy volunteers were genotyped for 5-HTTLPR and IL-1beta gene. The chi-squared test was used for statistical analysis. There was no statistical difference in 5-HTTLPR genotypes between the case and control groups (P = .60), however a significant increase was observed in the IL-1beta high production genotype CT in BMS subjects (P = .005). In conclusion, the present study shows association between BMS and IL-1beta high producer genotype. PERSPECTIVE: This article shows evidence that genetic polymorphisms associated with IL-1beta high production genotype are implicated on the pathogenesis of BMS. The modulation of IL1beta production may be an interesting tool in BMS management.

Polymerase chain reaction for identification of herpes simplex virus (HSV-1), cytomegalovirus (CMV) and human herpes virus-type 6 (HHV-6) in oral swabs.

Considering that sensitive and specific methods to detect HSV-1, CMV and HHV-6 on oral mucosa have a great impact on oral diagnosis practice and research, together with the evidence that PCR is a rapid and reliable method, the purpose of the present study was to develop primer sets to detect HSV-1, CMV and HHV-6 in oral swabs by nested polymerase chain reaction (nested PCR). We developed a practical method for sample collection without tissue trauma, and the swabs were stored until used for DNA extraction. After the nested PCR a DNA fragment of 241 bp corresponding to HSV-1 was amplified. DNA fragments of 224 and 369 bp were amplified corresponding to CMV and HHV-6, respectively. DNA sequencing analysis confirmed the expected sequences of each virus. In conclusion, it was demonstrated that these new primer sets are able to identify HSV-1, CMV and HHV-6 in oral swab using nested PCR.