Publications by authors named "Kirakodu S"

Aim: The clinical outcomes of a variety of surgical procedures highly depend on tissue repair and show high variability among patients. There is a gap in the literature on how the host inflammatory response, the microbiome, and the interplay between them can influence oral mucosa healing. In this pilot study, we aimed to evaluate the microbiome and biomarkers profiles in patients who had desired versus undesired wound healing in the palatal mucosa.

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Type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) is associated with cellular abnormalities, tissue and organ dysfunctions, and periodontitis. This investigation examined the relationship between the oral microbiome and salivary biomarkers in T2DM patients with or without periodontitis. This cohort (35-80 years) included systemically healthy non-periodontitis (NP; n = 31), T2DM without periodontitis (DWoP; n = 32) and T2DM with periodontitis (DWP; n = 29).

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Article Synopsis
  • This study aims to explore the salivary microbiome characteristics in Type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) patients, particularly comparing those with periodontitis to those without it.
  • Periodontitis is linked to T2DM, and understanding the differences in oral microbiomes could improve diabetes management and clinical outcomes for patients.
  • Results indicated that T2DM patients with periodontitis have distinct microbial profiles and levels of specific salivary analytes, suggesting a unique relationship between oral health and diabetes complications.
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  • The study compares microbial and inflammatory profiles in periodontally and systemically healthy African American (AA) and Caucasian (C) individuals aged 5 to 25 years.
  • Results show that AA individuals had greater probing depth, while C individuals had higher caries and DMFT indices, with notable differences in inflammatory markers and microbial profiles between the groups.
  • The findings suggest that these distinct profiles may lead to varying susceptibility to oral diseases in AA and C individuals.
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Unlabelled: The local gingival tissue environment with homeostasis and tissue-destructive events of periodontitis demonstrates major changes in histological features and biology of the oral/sulcular epithelium, fibroblasts, vascular cells, inflammatory cell infiltration, and alveolar bone.

Objective: This study used an experimental periodontitis model to detail the gingival transcriptome related to cell death processes of pyroptosis, necroptosis, ferroptosis, and cuproptosis.

Materials And Methods: Healthy Macaca mulatta primates stratified by age, ≤3 years (young), 7-12 years (adolescent), 12-15 years (adult), and 17-23 years (aged), provided gingival tissue biopsies for microarray analysis focused on 257 genes representative of the four cell death processes and bacterial plaque samples for 16S rRNA gene analysis.

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Introduction: Periodontitis is delineated by a dysbiotic microbiome at sites of lesions accompanied by a dysregulated persistent inflammatory response that undermines the integrity of the periodontium. The interplay of the altered microbial ecology and warning signals from host cells would be a critical feature for maintaining or re-establishing homeostasis in these tissues.

Methods: This study used a nonhuman primate model () with naturally-occurring periodontitis ( = 34) and experimental ligature-induced periodontitis ( = 36) to describe the features of gene expression for an array of damage-associate molecular patterns (DAMPs) or alarmins within the gingival tissues.

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Objective: This report identified if gingival gene expression transcriptomes demonstrated unique profiles that discriminated periodontitis-susceptible (PDS) and periodontitis-resistant (PDR) animals in health and disease.

Background: Nonhuman primates generally organize their social groups based upon matriline origin. We have used a multi-generational colony of rhesus macaques to identify matrilines presenting with significant differences in periodontitis (e.

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Article Synopsis
  • This study explores how the oral microbiome influences macrophage behavior during health and the development of periodontitis in a nonhuman primate model.
  • The research compares microbial and immune gene expressions in younger and older cohorts, finding that while many microbes are consistent across ages, significant differences exist in adults.
  • Results reveal strong correlations between specific microbial taxa and macrophage gene expressions, particularly in younger samples, indicating a complex interplay between oral bacteria and immune responses in periodontal disease.
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  • The study investigates how sex and age influence gene expression in the gingival tissues of nonhuman primates, serving as a model for human periodontitis.
  • Findings reveal significant sex differences in gene regulation, with females showing higher levels of immune response genes and males exhibiting more structural genes, which are influenced by age.
  • Cluster analysis indicates that gene expression patterns can discriminate between sexes and age groups, suggesting that early life "programming" may affect future risk for periodontitis.
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Background: The prevalence and severity of periodontitis demonstrates altered population distribution with age, sex, and race and ethnicity. While males exhibit greater frequency of disease, particularly with aging, the underlying basis for this observation remains obscure.

Objective: This study used a nonhuman primate (Macaca mulatta) model of experimental ligature-induced periodontitis in adult animals to evaluate gingival transcriptomic differences stratified based upon sex of the animal.

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Phenotypic and functional heterogeneity of macrophages is clearly a critical component of their effective functions in innate and adaptive immunity. This investigation hypothesized that altered profiles of gene expression in gingival tissues in health, disease, and resolution would reflect changes in macrophage phenotypes occurring in these tissues. The study used a nonhuman primate model to evaluate gene expression profiles as footprints of macrophage variation using a longitudinal experimental model of ligature-induced periodontitis in animals from 3 to 23 years of age to identify aging effects on the gingival environment.

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Objective: The aim was to determine the effect of chewing gum containing xylitol and freeze-dried blackberry powder on oral bacteria.

Design: This was a randomized, controlled, cross-over study (RCT #: NCT05133557). Fifty participants chewed gum over an 8 h period, four times for 20 min at 2-hour intervals, containing 700 mg xylitol (CG) with or without 50 mg blackberry powder (BG), while wearing a stent containing a sterile enamel chip.

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Rhesus monkeys (n = 36) exhibiting a healthy periodontium at baseline were used to induce progressing periodontitis through ligature placement around premolar/molar teeth. Bacterial samples were collected at baseline, 0.5, 1, and 3 months of disease and at 5 months for disease resolution.

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The structure and function of epithelial cells are critical for the construction and maintenance of intact epithelial surfaces throughout the body. Beyond the mechanical barrier functions, epithelial cells have been identified as active participants in providing warning signals to the host immune and inflammatory cells and in communicating various detailed information on the noxious challenge to help drive specificity in the characteristics of the host response related to health or pathologic inflammation. Rhesus monkeys were used in these studies to evaluate the gingival transcriptome for naturally occurring disease samples (GeneChip® Rhesus Macaque Genome Array) or for ligature-induced disease (GeneChip® Rhesus Gene 1.

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Colonization of mucosal tissues throughout the body occurs by a wide array of bacteria in the microbiome that stimulate the cells and tissues, as well as respond to changes in the local milieu. A feature of periodontitis is the detection of adaptive immune responses to members of the oral microbiome that show specificity and changes with disease and treatment. Thus, variations in antibody responses are noted across the population and affected by aging, albeit, data are still unclear as to how these differences relate to disease risk and expression.

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The epithelial barrier at mucosal sites comprises an important mechanical protective feature of innate immunity, and is intimately involved in communicating signals of infection/tissue damage to inflammatory and immune cells in these local environments. A wide array of antimicrobial factors (AMF) exist at mucosal sites and in secretions that contribute to this innate immunity. A non-human primate model of ligature-induced periodontitis was used to explore characteristics of the antimicrobial factor transcriptome ( = 114 genes) of gingival biopsies in health, initiation and progression of periodontal lesions, and in samples with clinical resolution.

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The mechanisms through which oral commensal bacteria mitigates uncontrolled inflammatory responses of the oral mucosa remain unknown. Here, we show that representative oral bacterial species normally associated with oral health [S. gordonii (), V.

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Although data describe the presence and increase of inflammatory mediators in the local environment in periodontitis vs. health in humans, details regarding how these responses evolve in the transition from health to disease, changes during disease progression, and features of a resolved lesion remain unknown. This study used a nonhuman primate model of ligature-induced periodontitis in young, adolescent, adult, and aged animals to document features of inflammatory response affected by age.

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We used a nonhuman primate model of ligature-induced periodontitis to identify patterns of gingival transcriptomic after changes demarcating phases of periodontitis lesions (initiation, progression, resolution). A total of 18 adult Macaca mulatta (12-22 years) had ligatures placed (premolar, 1st molar teeth) in all 4 quadrants. Gingival tissue samples were obtained (baseline, 2 weeks, 1 and 3 months during periodontitis and at 5 months resolution).

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Follicular helper T cells (Tfh) cells have been identified in the circulation and in tertiary lymphoid structures in chronic inflammation. Gingival tissues with periodontitis reflect chronic inflammation, so genomic footprints of Tfh cells should occur in these tissues and may differ related to aging effects. Macaca mulatta were used in a ligature-induced periodontitis model [adult group (aged 12-23 years); young group (aged 3-7 years)].

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Oral mucosal tissues must react with and respond to microbes comprising the oral microbiome ecology. This study examined the interaction of the microbiome with transcriptomic footprints of apoptosis, autophagy and hypoxia pathways during periodontitis. Adult Macaca mulatta (n = 18; 12-23 years of age) exhibiting a healthy periodontium at baseline were used to induce progressing periodontitis through ligature placement around premolar/molar teeth.

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This study focused on documenting characteristics of the gingival transcriptome during various stages of periodontitis targeting genes associated with apoptotic and autophagic pathways and changes that specifically associate with features of the oral microbiome. ( = 18; 12-23 years) were examined at baseline and 0.5, 1, and 3 months of disease progression, as well as 5 months with clinical disease resolution.

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Objective: We hypothesized that autophagy-related genes will be differentially expressed in periodontitis, suggesting an impaired gingival autophagic response associated with disease.

Background: Autophagy is a cellular physiologic mechanism to maintain tissue homeostasis, while deficient autophagic responses increase inflammation and susceptibility to infection.

Methods: Rhesus monkeys [<3 years to 23 years of age (n = 34)] were examined for periodontal health and naturally occurring periodontitis.

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This investigation evaluated the relationship of the oral microbiome and gingival transcriptome in health and periodontitis in nonhuman primates (). Subgingival plaque samples and gingival biopsies were collected from healthy sites and at sites undergoing ligature-induced periodontitis. Microbial samples were analyzed with 16S amplicon sequencing to identify bacterial profiles in young (3 to 7 y) and adult (12 to 23 y) animals.

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Epithelial cells and functions of the epithelium are critical to the health of the oral cavity. We used a nonhuman primate model to profile the transcriptome of gingival tissues in health across the lifespan and hypothesized that in older animals, epithelial-related transcriptome patterns would reflect epithelial cells that are aggressively responsive to the surrounding environment and less able to modulate and resolve the noxious challenge from the bacteria. Rhesus monkeys (n = 34) with a healthy periodontium were distributed into four groups: ≤3 years (young), 3-7 years (adolescent), 12-16 years (adult), and 18-23 years (aged), and a buccal gingival sample from the premolar/molar region of each animal was obtained.

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