Predictors of oral health quality of life in older adults

There is limited information regarding oral health status and other predictors of oral health‐related quality of life. An association between oral health status and perceived oral health‐related quality of life (OHQOL) might help clinicians motivate patients to prevent oral diseases and improve the outcome of some dental public health programs. This study evaluated the relationship between older persons' OHQOL and their functional dentition, caries, periodontal status, chronic diseases, and some demographic characteristics. A group of 733 low‐income elders (mean age 72.7 ISD=4.71, 55.6% women, 55.1% members of ethnic minority groups in the U.S. and Canada) enrolled in the TEETH clinical trial were interviewed and examined as part of their fifth annual visit for the trial. OHQOL was measured by the Geriatric Oral Health Assessment Index (GOHAI); oral health and occlusal status by clinical exams and the Eichner Index; and demographics via interviews. Elders who completed the four‐year assessment had an average of 21.5 teeth (SD=6.9). with 8.5 occluding pairs (SD=4.6), and 32% with occlusal contacts in all four occluding zones. Stepwise multiple regressions were conducted to predict total GOHAI and its subscores (Physical, Social, and Worry). Functional dentition was a less significant predictor than ethnicity and being foreign‐bom. These variables, together with gender, years since immigrating, number of carious roots, and periodontal status, could predict 32% of the variance in total GOHAI, 24% in Physical, 27% in Social, and 21 % in the Worry subscales. These findings suggest that functional dentition and caries influence older adults' OHQOL, but that ethnicity and immigrant status play a larger role.     

Structure and regulation of the HSP90 gene from the pathogenic fungus Candida albicans.

Candida albicans HSP90 sequences were isolated by screening cDNA and genomic libraries with a probe derived from the Saccharomyces cerevisiae homolog, HSP82, which encodes a member of the heat shock protein 90 family of molecular chaperones. Identical sequences were obtained for the 2,197-bp overlap of the cDNA and gene sequences, which were derived from C. albicans 3153A and ATCC 10261, respectively. The C. albicans HSP90 gene contained no introns, and it showed strong homology (61 to 79% identity) to HSP90 sequences from other fungi, vertebrates, and plants. The C-terminal portion of the predicted Hsp90 amino acid sequence was identical to the 47-kDa protein which is thought to be immunoprotective during C. albicans infections (R. C. Matthews, J. Med. Microbiol. 36:367-370, 1992), confirming that this protein represents the C-terminal portion of the 81-kDa Hsp90 protein. Quantitative Northern (RNA) analyses revealed that C. albicans HSP90 mRNA was heat shock inducible and that its levels changed during batch growth, with its maximum levels being reached during the mid-exponential growth phase. HSP90 mRNA levels increased transiently during the yeast-to-hyphal transition but did not correlate directly with germ tube production per se. These data do not exclude a role for Hsp90 in the dimorphic transition. Southern blotting revealed only one HSP90 locus in the diploid C. albicans genome. Repeated attempts to disrupt both alleles and generate a homozygous C. albicans delta hsp90/delta hsp90 null mutant were unsuccessful. These observations suggest the existence of a single HSP90 locus which is essential for viability in C. albicans.     

Sensitization to human milk

Background Allergy to milk is one of the earliest manifestations of IgE‐mediated allergies and affects about 2.5% of newborn children. Several reports indicate that milk‐allergic patients may be sensitized also to human milk proteins. Objective To analyse the specificity and possible biological relevance of IgE reactivity to human milk antigens in milk‐allergic patients. Methods The specificity of IgE reactivity to cow's milk and human milk antigens was analysed with sera from milk‐allergic children and adults by IgE immunoblotting. IgE cross‐reactivity between milk antigens was studied by immunoblot inhibition experiments. That IgE reactivity to human milk antigens is not due to alloreactivity or due to the transmission of foreign antigens into mother's milk was demonstrated through the analysis of milk samples from genetically unrelated mothers before and after intake of dietary milk products. The biological relevance of IgE reactivity to human milk was confirmed by skin testing. Results IgE antibodies to human milk were found in more than 80% of the tested milk‐allergic patients. Cross‐reactive IgE‐reactive human antigens such as α‐lactalbumin and non‐cross‐reactive human milk antigens were identified. Immediate‐type skin reactions could be elicited with human milk samples in patients with IgE reactivity to human milk. Conclusion IgE reactivity to human milk in milk‐allergic patients can be due to cross‐ sensitization and genuine sensitization to human milk and may cause allergic symptoms. IgE‐mediated sensitization to human milk is common in milk‐allergic patients and may require diagnostic testing and monitoring.     

Secretion of vascular endothelial growth factor/vascular permeability factor from human luteinized granulosa cells is human chorionic gonadotrophin dependent

Vascularization is a prominent event during corpus luteum formation, providing low density lipoproteins for steroid biosynthesis and enabling transport of secreted steroids. The process of vascularization is controlled by specific regulators. Vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), otherwise named vascular permeability factor (VPF), induces endothelial cell proliferation as well as angiogenesis in vivo and increases capillary permeability. Here we report the expression of VEGF/VPF mRNA by cultured human luteinized granulosa cells (GC) for at least 10 days. Without HCG VEGF/VPF expression declined after day 4 and by day 10 was reduced to approximately 30% of the value at day 4. However, after culture in the presence of 1 U/ml human chorionic gonadotrophin (HCG), expression of VEGF/VPF mRNA by GC was four times greater than control experiments by day 10, and increased 100% from day 4 to day 10. Simultaneously, HCG supplementation increased VEGF/VPF secretion by GC. Medium VEGF/VPF on day 3 was 13 pM without and 11 pM with HCG. Medium VEGF/VPF on day 10 was 6 pM without HCG and 29 pM with HCG. These results suggest that vascularization of the corpus luteum is induced by HCG-mediated effects of VEGF/VPF.      

Outer membrane protein YadA of enteropathogenic yersiniae mediates specific binding to cellular but not plasma fibronectin.

The binding of bacteria or bacterial products to host proteins of tissue extracellular matrix may be a mechanism of tissue adherence. We investigated interactions of the plasmid-encoded outer membrane protein YadA, which confers pathogenic functions on enteropathogenic yersiniae, with fibronectin. Attachment of YadA-positive and YadA-negative recombinant Yersinia enterocolitica strains to cartilage-derived human cellular fibronectin and human plasma fibronectin in the solid phase revealed that YadA mediates binding of yersiniae to cellular fibronectin in a saturable, concentration-dependent manner. The interaction could be inhibited by an anti-YadA-specific anti-serum. An anti-beta 1-integrin antibody and the synthetic peptide G-R-G-D-S-P, representing the binding site for alpha 5 beta 1-integrin on fibronectin, did not block attachment of YadA-positive yersiniae to cellular fibronectin, indicating a binding site for YadA on cellular fibronectin independent of the R-G-D-S-containing site. By contrast, YadA failed to mediate binding to plasma fibronectin immobilized on nitrocellulose or plastic surfaces. These observations provide evidence for the hypothesis that the binding region for YadA in cellular fibronectin is not present in plasma fibronectin. This study is the first report on differential binding of bacteria to splicing variants of fibronectin. Further experiments might answer the question whether binding of YadA to cellular fibronectin contributes to the pathogenesis of yersiniae, both to the initial adhesion of the bacteria to the matrices of the host and to the arthritogenic potential of enteropathogenic yersiniae.     

Recombinant fish parvalbumins: Candidates for diagnosis and treatment of fish allergy

Fish and fish products represent one of the most important causes of IgE-mediated food hypersensitivity. In sensitized individuals contact with and consumption of fish can lead to severe health problems, ranging from urticaria and dermatitis to angiedema, diarrhoea, asthma and, at worst, systemic anaphylactic reactions and death. Parvalbumin, a small calcium-binding protein present in the muscles of vertebrates, was identified as the major fish allergen. We describe the isolation and characterization of cDNA clones coding for carp parvalbumin by IgE immunoscreening of a carp muscle expression library. These clones will be the basis for the production of recombinant carp parvalbumin, a useful tool for in vitro and in vivo diagnosis of fish allergy.