Comparison of some salivary variables between vegetarians and omnivores

The aim of the study was to compare salivary variables in a group of vegetarians with a group of omnivores. Twenty-nine vegetarians, 19 women and 10 men, mean age 35 yr, and 28 omnivores, 20 women and 8 men, mean age 35 yr, were compared in terms of salivary secretion rate, pH, buffer capacity, mutans streptococci and lactobacilli. The vegetarians had a significantly higher secretion rate, but there were no other significant differences regarding the salivary variables. The difference in secretion rate may have been caused by some lifestyle factor(s) differing between vegetarians and omnivores which probably mainly include nutrient(s), texture and roughness of the food.     

Calcium and other salivary factors in periodontitis-affected subjects prior to treatment

Abstract Salivary calcium was shown to be higher in treated periodontitis-affected subjects (P+) than in periodontitis-free patients (P?). Here the aim was to study whether differences in calcium or other salivary factors exist prior to treatment. The test group consisted of 20 (15 men, 5 women) periodontitis-affected subjects and the control group 15 subjects (10 men, 5 women) free from periodontitis. Paraffin-stimulated whole saliva was collected to determine the flow-rate, calcium and phosphate concentrations, pH, buffering capacity, numbers of mutans streptococci, lactobacilli and yeasts. The results showed a higher calcium concentration (p < 0.05) in the P+ group (x?: 1.68 mmol/l; SE: 0.06 in men and x?: 1.49 mmol/l; SE: 0.10 in women) than in the P-group (x?: 1.48 mmol/l; SE: 0.09 in men and x?: 1.18 mmol/l; SE: 0.10 in women). The P+ group had more intact teeth (x?±SE: 9.9±0.8 in men and 11.2±2.0 in women) than the P-group (x?± SE: 8.3±0.7 in men and 8.2±2.4 in women). The present findings may indicate that an elevated level of salivary Ca is characteristic of P+ patients both before and after periodontal treatment.     

Mechanism of disturbances of catecholamine excretion with saliva in rats with acute starvation

Department of Pathological Physiology, N. A. Semashko Moscow Medical Stomatologic Institute. (Presented by Academician of the Academy of Medical Sciences of the USSR A. D. Ado.) Translated from Byulleten' Éksperimental'noi Biologii i Meditsiny, Vol. 111, No. 3, pp. 246–297, March, 1991.     

Human herpesvirus-6 DNA in the saliva of paediatric oncology patients and controls

Children with malignancy are immunosup-pressed and susceptible to serious infections with herpesviruses. The majority of children on chemotherapy for malignancy are seropositive for human herpesvirus-6 (HHV-6), and although HHV-6 has been demonstrated to be a pathogen in severely immunocompromised patients, whether this is the case for paediatric oncology patients is unknown. HHV-6 is secreted in saliva and in this study samples were examined prospectively for HHV-6 DNA in healthy children and those with malignancy. In a nested polymerase chain reaction (PCR), a 287 bp outer fragment and 163 inner fragment of HHV-6 DNA were amplified. The resulting amplimer contained a Hind III restriction site present only in “B” type HHV-6 and this was used to identify the type of HHV-6 amplified. In saliva from healthy control children, 74% (28/38) of samples were HHV-6 DNA-positive in either the supernate, pellet or both. In the patients, 58% (45/77) of all samples were HHV-6 DNA-positive. When sequential samples from twelve patients were examined the children appeared to fall into two groups: those who were frequently HHV-6 DNA-positive (60% of samples or more) and those who were rarely HHV-6 DNA-positive (33% of samples or less) (P < 0.0001). The only apparent difference between these two groups was that the less frequently HHV-6-positive group was more often febrile and unwell with neutro-paenia. Hind III digestion demonstrated all the positive samples to be “6” type HHV-6. Possible explanations for this difference in HHV-6 secretion between the patient groups are discussed. © Wiley-Liss, Inc.     

The effect on immunity of long-term intensive training in elite swimmers

The impact of long-term training on systemic and mucosal immunity was assessed prospectively in a cohort of elite swimmers over a 7-month training season in preparation for national championships. The results indicated significant suppression (P < 0.05) of serum IgA. IgG and IgM and salivary IgA concentration in athletes associated with long-term training at an intensive level. There was also a trend towards lower IgG2 subclass levels in serum in athletes compared with controls (P= 0.07). There were no significant changes in numbers or percentages of B or T cell subsets, but there was a significant fall in natural killer (NK) cell numbers and percentages in athletes over the training season (P < 0.05). After individual training sessions there was a significant decrease in salivary IgA levels for athletes compared with controls (P= 0.02). In athletes there was a downward trend in salivary IgA levels over the 7-month training period in both the pre-exercise (P= 0.06) and post-exercise samples (P= 0.04). There were no significant trends in salivary IgG levels over the study period in either athletes or controls. The only significant change in salivary IgM levels was an increase in detection rate in the pre-competition phase in athletes (P= 0.03). The study suggests that training of elite athletes at an intensive level over both short- and long-time frames suppresses both systemic and mucosal immunity. Protracted immune suppression linked with prolonged training may determine susceptibility to infection, particularly at times of major competitions.     

Quantification of IgA and IgG and specificities of antibodies to viral proteins in parotid saliva at different stages of HIV-1 infection

Paired sera and parotid saliva from 75 HIV-1-infected patients, divided in three equal groups with CD4⁺ cell counts > 500, 200–500 and < 200/mm³, respectively, were analysed for IgG, IgA and secretory IgA (sIgA) concentrations and for IgG and IgA antibody directed to HIV-1. Twenty-nine age-matched HIV⁻ subjects were used as controls. In serum the concentrations of immunoglobulins were significantly increased in HIV-infected subjects compared with controls, and a progressive increase of IgA and sIgA was noticed while the CD4⁺ cell count decreased. In contrast, concentrations of IgA and sIgA were not different in parotid saliva between the four subject groups. By an ELISA test directed towards HIV-1 proteins, 73 of the 75 serum specimens from the HIV-infected subjects (97%) and 43 of the corresponding saliva (57%) were found positive for specific IgA antibodies to HIV-1, with an even distribution among the three groups of patients. By Western blotting multiple specificities of IgA to HIV-1 proteins were not frequently found in patients. By contrast, in spite of an IgG concentration in saliva about 100 times lower than that of IgA, reactivities were significantly higher for IgG than for IgA antibodies, especially to env and to pol HIV-1 products. Altogether, these data suggest that the regulation of IgA production in HIV-infected subjects is independent in serum and in parotid saliva. This imbalance of IgA/IgG antibodies to HIV-1 at the mucosal level appears to be a specific feature of HIV-1 infection, and may raise important issues in terms of local protection after immunization.     

Secretion of salivary immunoglobulin a in relation to age,saliva flow,mood states,secretion of albumin,cortisol, and catecholamines in saliva

Salivary immunoglobulin A (IgA) is one characteristic humoral factor of the local immune system in the upper respiratory tract. Epidemiological studies emphasize the importance of secretory IgA in the protection from infections of the upper respiratory tract. However, due to high interindividual variability of secretion of salivary IgA, it remains difficult to define normal ranges. This series of studies focused on identification of factors influencing basal secretion of salivary IgA. The results indicate a significant relationship between age and salivary IgA concentration. Children below 7 years have lower salivary IgA concentration than children above 7 years or adults. Furthermore, a significant inverse relationship between saliva flow and salivary IgA concentration was found. Gender, mood states, salivary albumin, salivary catecholamines, and salivary cortisol were not associated with salivary IgA. It can be concluded that for defining normal ranges of salivary IgA, age and saliva flow have to be considered.     

Persistence of free HBV DNA in body secretions and liver despite loss of serum HBV DNA after interferon-induced seroconversion

Following interferon therapy, a chronic hepatitis B (HBV) carrier lost all serum markers of active viral replication and became anti-HBe positive but remained positive for free and replicative HBV-DNA in semen, saliva, urine, and liver four months later. At 12 months, when he also developed anti-HBs, urine and saliva analysed for free HBV-DNA were positive. Despite histological remission and loss of HBV-DNA from serum, the potential for transmission of HBV and reactivation of disease remain.     

HTL V-I from Iranian Mashhadi Jews in Israel is phylogenetically related to that of Japan,India, and South America rather than to that of Africa and Melanesia

A new endemic focus of human T-lymphotropic virus type I (HTL V-I) was recently reported among Mashhadi Jews, a group of immigrants from northeastern Iran to Israel. We extracted DNAs from fresh peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) and/or gargle mouthwash from 10 HTL V-I carriers, who consisted of members of one family, and HTL V-I-associated myelopathy (HAM) and adult T-cell leukemia (ATL) patients. Long terminal repeat (LTR) regions of proviral DNAs were sequenced and analyzed phylogenetically. In a phylogenetic tree, all the Mashhadi HTL V-I isolates belonged to subtype A, one of the three subtypes of the cosmopolitan type of HTL V-I, and made a tight cluster distinct from the other isolates of subtype A from Japan, India, the Caribbean Basin, and South America. Although a few nucleotide substitutions were observed among the clones sequenced, no characteristic sequence variation was found in different disease manifestations, even in one family or different sources of DNA preparation.