Factors associated with the presence of atrophic tongue in patients with dry mouth.

Purpose: This study aimed to identify factors associated with atrophic tongue in patients with dry mouth.

Methods: Discriminant analysis was performed in 1265 patients with dry mouth to identify factors that might influence the risk of developing atrophic tongue. The dependent variable was the presence of atrophic tongue, while patient age, resting saliva flow rate, stimulated saliva flow rate and Candida colony-forming units (CFU) were used as the independent variables.

Age-related changes in rat genioglossus, geniohyoid and masseter muscles.

Objectives: The aim of this study was to elucidate age-related changes from adult to middle age in the contractile properties of the masseter, genioglossus and geniohyoid muscles of the rat.

Materials And Methods: We analysed the expressions of myosin heavy chain (MyHC) mRNAs and proteins as indicators of the contractile properties in these muscles obtained from rats at 6, 12, 18 and 24 months of age using real-time PCR and SDS-PAGE.

Results: We found no marked age-related changes in the expressions of MyHC mRNAs and proteins in rat masseter and geniohyoid muscles, suggesting that the biological ageing process does not affect contractile properties in these muscles.

Changes in triacylglycerol-accumulated fiber type, fiber type composition, and biogenesis in the mitochondria of the soleus muscle in obese rats.

Little is known about the effects of obesity on skeletal muscle consisting of approximately 80% type I (slow) fibers, such as that in the soleus muscle, although type I fibers have an enhanced capacity for mitochondrial respiration and fatty acid oxidation. We investigated the effects of obesity on the soleus muscle in the rat. Rats were fed a high-fat diet (protein:fat:carbohydrate = 20:57:23; 508 kcal/100 g) or a control diet (protein:fat:carbohydrate = 20:10:70; 366 kcal/100 g) for 10 weeks.

Autophagic-lysosomal pathway functions in the masseter and tongue muscles in the klotho mouse, a mouse model for aging.

Klotho mutant (kl/kl) mice, a type of short-lived mouse models, display several aging-related phenotypes. To investigate whether the atrophy of skeletal muscles is induced in these mice via activation of the ubiquitin-proteasomal pathway and/or the autophagic-lysosomal pathway through an alteration of insulin/IGF-I signaling, we analyzed the activity of the two pathways for protein degradation and components of the insulin/IGF signaling pathway in their skeletal muscles. The masseter, tongue, and gastrocnemius muscles in kl/kl showed marked reductions in muscle weight and in myofiber diameter compared with +/+.

BMP-2 regulates the formation of oral sulcus in mouse tongue by altering the balance between TIMP-1 and MMP-13.

The aim of this study is to investigate whether BMP-2 regulates the oral sulcus formation of mouse embryonic tongue by modifying the expression of TIMP and MMP. The BMP-2 siRNA induced a 180% increase in the depth of oral sulcus cavity (P < 0.01) by stimulating the invagination of oral sulcus into the mesenchymal tissues consisting of tongue floor, whereas the recombinant BMP-2 suppressed the process in the organ culture system of mouse embryonic tongue.

TGFbeta3 is expressed in differentiating muscle of the embryonic mouse tongue.

The purpose of the present study was to elucidate the involvement of transforming growth factor betas (TGFbetas) in the differentiation of tongue striated muscles by analyzing the expression of TGFbetas, their receptors and factors of TGFbeta signal transduction in the mouse tongue between embryonic days 11 (E11) and E15. The expression levels of TGFbeta3 mRNA and protein were much higher than those of TGFbeta1 and TGFbeta2, and the immunolocalization of TGFbeta3 was more consistent with the differentiating muscle cells in comparison with those of TGFbeta1 and 2 between E12 and E15. TGFbetaRI and II were localized to the differentiating muscle cells between E11 and E15.

Protective effect of lecithinized SOD on reactive oxygen species-induced xerostomia.

Reactive oxygen species (ROS) are believed to be involved in radiation-induced xerostomia, and the application of antioxidants may be a promising method for treating patients suffering from salivary gland dysfunction. In this study, we examined the ability of the antioxidant superoxide dismutase (SOD) to restore radiation-induced salivary gland dysfunction using a mouse model of radiation-induced salivary gland hypofunction and ultraviolet B (UVB)-irradiated human salivary gland cells. We administered lecithinized SOD (PC-SOD) prior to and after irradiation and measured the amount of saliva secreted.

The inhibition of apoptosis by glycyrrhizin in hepatic injury induced by injection of lipopolysaccharide / D-galactosamine in mice.

The inhibition of apoptosis by glycyrrhizin (GL) in hepatic injury induced by injection of lipopolysaccharide (LPS)/D-galactosamine (D-GalN) was examined in the present study. Morphological and biochemical analyses of LPS/D-GalN-induced mouse liver injury revealed that apoptosis occurred exclusively in injured hepatocytes of the centrilobular area. The degree of hepatic injury was associated with a substantial number of hepatocytes undergoing apoptosis.

BMP2, BMP4, and their receptors are expressed in the differentiating muscle tissues of mouse embryonic tongue.

To investigate the role of bone morphogenetic proteins (BMPs) in the differentiation process of skeletal muscle, we analyzed the in vivo expression of BMP2 and BMP4, of BMP receptors (BMPR) IA, IB, and II, and of activin receptors (ActR) IA, II, and IIB in mouse tongue muscle between embryonic day 11 (E11) and E17. The mRNA expression levels for BMP2 were 5-fold to 11-fold greater than those for BMP4 between E13 and E17 (P < 0.05-0.