Quantification of tryptase-TIM-3 double-positive mast cells in human chronic periodontitis

ObjectivesMast cells (MCs) are implicated in the pathogenesis of allergic reactions and inflammatory conditions through the release of inflammatory mediators. So far limited attention has been given to the role of MCs in periodontitis. T cell immunoglobulin mucin domain (TIM)-3 is an immunomodulatory molecule and influences MC function. However, whether TIM-3 is expressed on MCs in the process of human periodontal disease has not been reported. Therefore, we identified MCs by toluidine blue staining and examined the expression of TIM-3 on tryptase-positive MCs in different severities of human chronic periodontitis using double-immunofluorescence staining in this study.Material and methodsA total of 83 human periodontal specimens were involved in this study, including healthy control tissues (n = 25), chronic moderate periodontitis (n = 28), and chronic severe periodontitis (n = 30). The gingival specimens were fixed in 10% buffered formalin, stained with haematoxylin and eosin for histopathology, with toluidine blue for MCs, and with double-immunofluorescence for identification of tryptase-TIM-3 double-positive MCs in gingival tissues.ResultsCompared with healthy controls, the score of gingival tissue inflammation was significantly increased in the chronic moderate periodontitis (P = 0.013) and chronic severe periodontitis (P < 0.0001), and the densities (cells/mm²) of tryptase-TIM-3 double-positive MCs were significantly increased in both the chronic moderate (P = 0.011) and severe periodontitis groups (P < 0.0001). However, compared with the chronic moderate periodontitis group, both the score of gingival tissue inflammation (P = 0.012) and the density of tryptase-TIM-3 double-positive MCs (P = 0.011) in gingival tissue were significantly increased in the severe periodontitis groups.ConclusionSignificantly increased number of tryptase-TIM-3 double-positive MCs had the similar tendency as the severity of periodontitis inflammation in human chronic periodontitis. Our data suggest that TIM-3 may have a role on MCs in human chronic periodontitis.     

含结核清和含对氨基水杨酸钠方案治疗耐多药肺结核疗效分析

目的　考核结核清抗结核的疗效并寻求治疗耐多药肺结核合理有效的方法。方法 选取39例耐多药肺结核患者,随机分为含结核清(DPC)组及含对氨基水杨酸钠(P)组。结果 两组方案满疗程后痰菌阴转率分别为95%、93%。X线胸片吸收好转率均为86%。随访二年复发率分别为5%、8%。以上两组结果比较差异均无显著性(P>0.05)。但P费用比DPC高数倍且含DPC组胃肠道反应及静脉炎发生率远低于含P组(P<0.05)。结论 DPC、P分别配合K、O、TH、Z组成的治疗耐多药肺结核方案安全有效,适用于耐多药结核的治疗,含DPC组的2 KOTHZ DPC/6-10 OTHZ DPC方案口服给药、费用较含P组低、副作用小患者易接受,值得推广。     

dbDiarrhea: The database of pathogen proteins and vaccine antigens from diarrheal pathogens

Diarrhea occurs world-wide and is most commonly caused by gastrointestinal infections which kill around 2.2 million people globally each year, mostly children in developing countries. We describe here dbDiarrhea, which is currently the most comprehensive catalog of proteins implicated in the pathogenesis of diarrhea caused by major bacterial, viral and parasitic species. The current release of the database houses 820 proteins gleaned through an extensive and critical survey of research articles from PubMed. The major contributors to this compendium of proteins are Escherichia coli and Salmonella enterica. These proteins are classified into different categories such as Type III secretion system effectors, Type III secretion system components, and Pathogen proteins. There is another complementary module called ‘Host proteins’. dbDiarrhea also serves as a repository of the research articles describing (1) trials of subunit and whole organism vaccines (2) high-throughput screening of Type III secretion system inhibitors and (3) diagnostic assays, for various diarrheal pathogens. The database is web accessible through an intuitive user interface that allows querying proteins and research articles for different organism, keywords and accession number. Besides providing the search facility through browsing, the database supports sequence similarity search with the BLAST tool. With the rapidly burgeoning global burden of the diarrhea, we anticipate that this database would serve as a source of useful information for furthering research on diarrhea. The database can be freely accessed at http://www.juit.ac.in/attachments/dbdiarrhea/diarrhea_home.html.     

HIV misdiagnosis: A root cause analysis leading to improvements in HIV diagnosis and patient care

BackgroundStandard diagnostic testing for HIV infection has traditionally relied on a high sensitivity HIV antibody screening test using an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) followed by a high specificity antibody confirmatory test such as a Western Blot. Recently several of the screening assays have been enhanced with an ability to identify p24 antigen thereby narrowing the diagnostic window.ObjectivesTo explore the implications of enhanced HIV screening methods that may be leading to HIV misdiagnoses.Study designA patient deemed to be an HIV infected ‘elite controller’ was found to be misdiagnosed when undergoing detailed investigations prior to initiating antiretroviral therapy. A root cause analysis was performed to identify the causative factors of this misdiagnosis. A retrospective review of all “elite controllers” in Alberta, Canada revealed challenges of current HIV testing algorithms.ResultsTechnical and human factors were identified as being causative in this HIV misdiagnosis including (i) high rates of false reactive results on the Abbott ARCHITECT HIV-1&2 COMBO EIA, (ii) human error in reading the initial Western blot, (iii) HIV algorithmic directives in which confirmatory (Western blot) testing was not performed on a repeatedly reactive screen test. The outcome of this analysis identified opportunities for improvement, including implementation of a newly approved (automated) confirmatory assay and improved communication between the clinician and laboratory.ConclusionsHIV testing remains problematic despite significant advances in HIV test performance and algorithm development, presenting new and unexpected issues. Ensuring a high-quality management system including implementation of the latest HIV technologies and algorithms along with human resources and policies are required to minimize the impact of false positive diagnoses, especially in the era of universal screening and ‘test and treat’ recommendations.     

Fructo-oligosaccharides enhance the mineral absorption and counteract the adverse effects of phytic acid in mice

ObjectiveWe explored the effects of fructo-oligosaccharides (FOS) and phytic acid (PA) on the absorption of minerals and their interaction.MethodsA 3 × 2 factorial experiment was designed to evaluate the effects of FOS (in the presence or absence of PA) on the apparent absorption rate of minerals and the mineral status (plasma, hepatic, and bone) in mice. Sixty Kun-Ming mice were randomized into six groups: basal diet group; basal diet + 1% PA group (PA); basal diet + 0.8 g/kg of body weight FOS group (FOS1); FOS1 + 1% PA group (FOS1 + PA); basal diet + 2.5 g/kg of body weight group (FOS2); and FOS2 + 1% PA group (FOS2 + PA). The mice received FOS by gavage for consecutive 4 wk, and the PA was added in the diet. The mice were housed individually in the last week. The food intake was recorded and the feces were collected for calculation of the apparent absorption rate. Then the mice were sacrificed, the ceca were removed and weighed, and the cecum contents were used for the detection of pH and short-chain fatty acids. The blood, liver, and the left femur were collected for the measurement of the minerals.ResultsFOS supplementation resulted in the enlargement of the cecum and increased cecal acidification (P < 0.01). In addition, FOS effectively boosted the apparent absorption rate of calcium (FOS1, +7%; FOS2, +9%, P < 0.05), magnesium (FOS1, +26%; FOS2, +19%, P < 0.05), and iron (FOS1, +17%; FOS2, +22%, P < 0.05), and restored the PA-impaired magnesium and iron apparent absorption rates (P < 0.01). In addition, FOS significantly increased hepatic zinc levels (P < 0.01) and femoral magnesium levels (P < 0.01).ConclusionThese data indicate that FOS effectively enhances the mineral apparent absorption rate and counteracts the deleterious effects of PA.