念珠菌在人唾液中生长及蛋白酶表达情况的研究

目的：了解念珠菌在人唾液中生长及分泌型天冬氨酸蛋白酶（SAP）表达情况。方法：分别用添加0．2M葡萄糖的人唾液振荡培养白色念珠菌，热带念珠菌及季也蒙念珠菌，定时取样测定生长量，pH值，胞外蛋白酶活性及唾液总蛋白浓度，结果：三种念珠菌在含糖唾液中均生长良好且都能产生SAP，蛋白酶表达水平存在种间差异，念珠菌生长速率，唾液pH变化及总蛋白含量降低幅度与菌株SAP表达程度基本一致。结论：SAP很可能在口腔念珠菌病发生过程中起致病作用。     

The effect of oral contraceptive use and pregnancy on the daily rhythm of cortisol and cortisone

The effect of oral contraceptives and of pregnancy on the daily rhythm of cortisol, and its metabolite cortisone in plasma and saliva has been investigated. In both conditions the total plasma cortisol levels were raised to the same extent, the mean values in saliva in the oral contraceptive users being intermediate between those in pregnancy and in the controls, particularly in the morning. Salivary cortisone levels were more related to salivary cortisol than to total plasma cortisone which exhibited a rather flat daily rhythm. There was a shift in peak values for salivary cortisol and cortisone towards late morning: this may be due to a delay in the daily activation of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis in these patients.     

CircRNA在胃癌液体活检中的研究进展

胃癌因其高流行状态已成为我国一大公共卫生问题。环状RNA（circRNA）由于可稳定存在于人类的多种体液中,具备液态活检的先天优势,成为近年来精准治疗领域的研究热点。本文通过检索PubMed、Web of Science、中国知网等数据库文献,基于circRNA的生物学特征,归纳circRNA在胃癌早期筛查诊断、疗效监测、预后评估等方面的研究进展,论述circRNA作为新兴液体活检标志物的可能性及可靠性,为今后circRNA作为胃癌临床诊疗、评估、预后分子标志物的开发和转化提供思路。     

外泌体在缺血性脑卒中的研究进展

正1外泌体概述外泌体是直径在30~100 nm的胞外囊泡,通过细胞被释放到细胞外液中~([1])。它们存在于生物体液中,诸如血液和脑脊液。外泌体携带有DNA、RNA、蛋白质和脂质等。由于外泌体的微泡结构为其内在的小分子提供了一个安全稳定的环境,同时这些信号小分子利用循环系统在胞间信号交换发挥重要作用,这让外泌体表现出一个成熟、稳定的信号传输系统~([2])。研究发现,外泌体中的m RNA和micro RNA     

Radiation-induced xerostomia: pathophysiology, clinical course and supportive treatment

 Xerostomia, or oral dryness, is one of the most common complaints experienced by patients who have had radiotherapy of the oral cavity and neck region. The hallmarks of radiation-induced damage are acinar atrophy and chronic inflammation of the salivary glands. The early response, resulting in atrophy of the secretory cells without inflammation might be due to radiation-induced apoptosis. In contrast, the late response with inflammation could be a result of radiation-induced necrosis. The subjective complaint of a dry mouth appears to be poorly correlated with objective findings of salivary gland dysfunction. Xerostomia, with secondary symptoms of increased dental caries, difficulty in chewing, swallowing and speaking, and an increased incidence of oral candidiasis, can have a significant effect on the quality of life. At present there is no causal treatment for radiation-induced xerostomia. Temporary symptomatic relief can be offered by moistening agents and saliva substitutes, and is the only option for patients without residual salivary function. In patients with residual salivary function, oral administration of pilocarpine 5–10 mg three times a day is effective in increasing salivary flow and improving the symptoms of xerostomia, and this therapy should be considered as the treatment of choice. Effectiveness of sialogogue treatment requires residual salivary function, which emphasizes the potential benefit from sparing normal tissue during irradiation. The hypothesis concerning the existence of early apoptotic and late necrotic effects of irradiation on the salivary glands theoretically offers a way of achieving this goal.     

Variability of the salivary proteins of 20 Brazilian populations of Panstrongylus megistus (Hemiptera: Reduviidae: Triatominae)

The objective of the present study was to study variability in the salivary proteins of 20 Panstrongylus megistus populations from different ecotopes and verify whether this variability influenced the intensity of the response to specific anti-saliva antibodies. Electrophoretic analysis of P. megistus saliva showed a complex protein composition and great interpopulation variability. A higher concentration of bands was observed in the 17-29 kDa region. The phenogram constructed from the electrophoretic profiles of the P. megistus study populations revealed the existence of two main groups. However, there was no evident relationship between these groups and geographical regions, ecotopes or hosts. Saliva inoculated by P. megistus during feeding elicited production of low level of anti-saliva antibodies in rabbit. The homologous and heterologous salivary proteins were recognised by serum of rabbit sensitised with saliva from only one population. Qualitative and quantitative differences were observed for recognised bands in the saliva of all eight populations studied by Western blot analysis. The most recognised bands were those of greatest molecular weight (68.0-97.4 kDa).     

The relationships between titers of anti-Ro or anti-La as measured by ELISA and salivary production rate with age correction

The objective of this work was to clarify the clinical significance of titers of anti-Ro and anti-La, the relationships between titers of either anti-Ro or anti-La, and salivary production rate (SPR). These autoantibodies were titrated using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. The Saxon test was performed to measure SPR. Fifty-one females who had anti-Ro but not anticentromere antibodies or anti-U1RNP were enrolled. SPR decreased significantly with age. In order to exclude the effect of aging on SPR, we calculated the “SPR with age correction.” According to the results of a multiple regression analysis, only the anti-La titer was significantly associated with SPR with age correction. The distribution pattern of the anti-La titers consisted of two subgroups (with a titer index cutoff of 100.0): a negative anti-La titer (anti-La < 25.0) and low anti-La titer (25.0 ≤ anti-La < 100.0) group, and a high anti-La titer group (anti-La ≥ 100.0). The concentration of serum IgG and the frequency of Sjögren’s syndrome in the high anti-La titer group were significantly higher than those in the negative anti-La and low anti-La titer group. Several new aspects of the clinical significance of titrating anti-Ro and anti-La in comparison with SPR have been revealed.     

The relationship between cortisol,stress and psychiatric illness: New insights using hair analysis

BackgroundStress is an established important contributor to the development of mental illness and stress related disorders. The biology implicated in the homeostasis of pathological stress mechanisms is not fully established. One of the difficulties with current techniques is the limitation in capturing chronic levels of cortisol as an expression of stress levels in humans. Hair samples can be used to evaluate cortisol levels averaged over relatively long periods of time, therefore providing a more valid measure of chronic levels of this hormone. A highly replicable technique to measure long-term cortisol could prove pivotal in improving our understanding of the role of stress in psychiatric disorders.MethodsThis review synthesises all the published studies relating hair cortisol concentration (HCC) to stress and to psychiatric disorders. It describes and summarises their findings with the aim of providing a summary picture of the current state of this line of research.ResultsThe strongest finding to date is the replicable increases in hair cortisol associated with stressful life events. Findings in psychiatric disorders are more sparse and inconsistent. There is some support for the presence of raised HCC in major depressive disorders, and for lowered HCC in posttraumatic stress disorder, suggesting chronic hypercortisolaemia and hypocortisolaemia respectively.ConclusionsHCC is a promising methodology to study chronic cortisol levels with the potential to help characterise psychiatric and stress related disorders. The combination of chronic and acute cortisol measurements has the potential for more accurately determining different aspects of the stress response, and ultimately for the development of a biological marker to aid diagnosis and response to treatment.     

Validation of the salivary urea and creatinine tests as screening methods of chronic kidney disease in Vietnamese patients

Objectives: The aims of this case control study were to correlate the serum and salivary urea as well as creatinine levels; and to evaluate salivary urea and creatinine as noninvasive alternatives to serum for creatinine estimation in chronic kidney disease (CKD) patients.

Methods: Blood and saliva samples were collected from 112 CKD patients and 108 subjects without CKD for quantitative analysis of urea and creatinine. Spearman’s correlation coefficients between salivary and serum urea as well as creatinine were obtained. Receiver operating characteristic analysis was done to assess the diagnostic tests of salivary urea and creatinine. Cut-off values were determined based on the best trade-off between the sensitivity and specificity for both salivary urea and creatinine.

Results: Salivary urea and creatinine concentrations were significantly higher in CKD patients than those in control subjects; and increased by the stages of the severity of the disease. The positive correlation was significantly found between salivary and serum creatinine (r = 0.90) and between salivary and serum urea (r = 0.73). Area under the curve for salivary urea was 0.76 and a cut-off value of 14.25?mmol/L gave a sensitivity of 82.9% and specificity of 57.8%. Area under the curve for salivary creatinine was 0.92 and a cut-off value of 0.24?mg/dL gave a sensitivity of 86.5% and specificity of 87.2%.

Conclusions: Both salivary urea and creatinine have a high capacity for serum creatinine estimation. Salivary urea and creatinine tests can be used as low-cost, easily accessible and noninvasive tools for screening, diagnosing, monitoring treatment outcomes and ascertaining prognosis of chronic kidney disease.     

Human diseases,immunity and the oral microbiota—Insights gained from metagenomic studies

The immune system consists of a complex but organised myriad of cell types that continually maintain and survey their resident environment. It is this balanced homeostatic relationship between the cells of the immune system and its surrounding environment that shapes the microbial flora. In the oral cavity, the immune system not only has to harmonise with the ecology of commensal bacteria, fungi and viruses but also should be able to defend against pathogenic microbes. In fact, the oral microbiota is altered in situations when the immune system is dysregulated. There are a number of human diseases or conditions that perturb the balance of the host immune system and have an effect on the host oral microbiota. If this balance is disturbed, the symbiotic relationship will shift to allow the colonisation or overgrowth of potentially pathogenic species, inducing a pathogenic process that leads to various disease symptoms. The dynamics balance between the immune status and the oral microbial community of an individual has remained understudied till recently. Advances in metagenomics allow detailed investigations into oral microbial population and the possible diversity. This concise review summarises the current findings using metagenomic approaches for studying oral microbial flora diversity.