Female reproductive tract-organ axes.

The female reproductive tract (FRT) and remote/versatile organs in the body share bidirectional communication. In this review, we discuss the framework of the "FRT-organ axes." Each axis, namely, the vagina-gut axis, uterus-gut axis, ovary-gut axis, vagina-bladder axis, vagina-oral axis, uterus-oral axis, vagina-brain axis, uterus-brain axis, and vagina-joint axis, is comprehensively discussed separately.

Identification of Nutritional Factors to Evaluate Periodontal Clinical Parameters in Patients with Systemic Diseases.

Nutritional factors reflect the periodontal parameters accompanying periodontal status. In this study, the associations between nutritional factors, blood biochemical items, and clinical parameters were examined in patients with systemic diseases. The study participants were 94 patients with heart disease, dyslipidemia, kidney disease, or diabetes mellitus.

Association between Dietary Habit and Clinical Parameters in Patients with Chronic Periodontitis Undergoing Supportive Periodontal Therapy.

The recurrence risk evaluation has been emphasized in periodontal stabilization during supportive periodontal therapy (SPT). However, nutritional factors, e.g.

Sublingual immunization with recombinant GroEL plus CpG-ODN inhibits Porphyromonas gingivalis-induced inflammation and alveolar bone loss.

It has been reported that GroEL, a heat shock protein (HSP) produced by the representative periodontopathogenic bacterium, Porphyromonas gingivalis, induces inflammation-induced osteoclastogenesis and promotes alveolar bone resorption. In this study, we demonstrated the efficacy of a mucosal vaccine targeting GroEL against bone resorption induced by P. gingivalis.

Lactic acid bacteria prevent both periodontitis and atherosclerosis exacerbated by periodontitis in spontaneously hyperlipidemic mice.

Background And Objective: Recent studies have shown a link between periodontal disease and cardiovascular disease. We have previously reported that oral administration of Porphyromonas gingivalis (Pg) accelerates atherosclerosis in apolipoprotein E-deficient spontaneously hyperlipidemic (Apoe ) mice. This study evaluated the potential of lactic acid bacteria (LAB) to change the intestinal flora changes induced by periodontopathic bacteria and to prevent/slow down the development of atherosclerosis.

Impaired salivary SIgA antibodies elicit oral dysbiosis and subsequent induction of alveolar bone loss.

Objective: Secreted IgA (SIgA) plays a central role in preventing bacterial and viral infections on mucosal surfaces by neutralizing toxins and viruses and inhibiting bacterial attachment to epithelial cells. However, the role of salivary SIgA antibodies (Abs) in regulating oral flora is still unknown. This study aimed to evaluate the association among oral bacteria, their metabolites and periodontitis in IgA-deficient (IgA KO) and wild-type (WT) control mice.

Oral bacteria affect the gut microbiome and intestinal immunity.

Recently, it has been suggested that the oral administration of Porphyromonas gingivalis, a keystone pathogen for periodontal disease, induces dysbiosis of the mouse intestinal microbiota and affects intestinal barrier function. Since oral streptococci are the predominant oral bacterial group, we compared the effect of their oral administration on the intestinal tract compared to that of P. gingivalis.

Oral challenge with Streptococcus sanguinis induces aortic inflammation and accelerates atherosclerosis in spontaneously hyperlipidemic mice.

Atherosclerosis is exacerbated by periodontal pathogens, which induce vascular inflammation after entering the bloodstream. Among oral indigenous bacteria, Streptococcus sanguinis and S. anginosus are related to systemic disorders, such as infective endocarditis and abscess, and are sometimes detected in human atherosclerotic plaques or blood.

Lactobacillus helveticus SBT2171 upregulates the expression of β-defensin and ameliorates periodontal disease caused by Porphyromonas gingivalis.

Antimicrobial peptides play important roles in the innate immune system of various organisms, and they may also be considered to prevent the organisms from infections. In particular, β-defensins, mainly produced in epithelial cells, are recognized as one of the major antimicrobial peptides in mammals, including humans. In this study, we showed that Lactobacillus helveticus SBT2171 (LH2171), one of the several species of lactic acid bacteria, upregulates the production of β-defensins in oral epithelial cells in vitro.

CCR7-deficient mice exhibit a delayed antigen-specific mucosal IgA antibody response to an oral recombinant Salmonella strain.

The migration of antigen (Ag)-loading dendritic cells (DCs) from Peyer's patches (PPs) to the draining mesenteric lymph nodes (MLNs) via chemokine receptor 7 (CCR7) is thought to be an important step in the initiation of acquired immunity. Our previous study showed that PPs were indispensable for Ag-specific secretory (S)IgA antibody (Ab) responses against oral recombinant Salmonella (rSalmonella). In this study, we attempted to show direct PP DC migration to MLNs by employing photoconvertible protein transgenic mice and investigated the role of the CCR7 signaling pathway in mucosal IgA induction.

C/EBPβ and YY1 bind and interact with Smad3 to modulate lipopolysaccharide-induced amelotin gene transcription in mouse gingival epithelial cells.

Junctional epithelium (JE) develops from reduced enamel epithelium during tooth formation and is critical for the maintenance of healthy periodontal tissue through ensuring appropriate immune responses and the rapid turnover of gingival epithelial cells. We have previously shown a relationship between inflammatory cytokines and expression of JE-specific genes, such as amelotin (AMTN), in gingival epithelial cells. Here, we elucidated the effects of -derived lipopolysaccharide ( LPS) on gene transcription and the interaction of transcription factors.

Pseudopropionibacterium rubrum sp. nov., a novel red-pigmented species isolated from human gingival sulcus.

In this study, Strain [corrected] SK-1(T), a novel gram-positive, pleomorphic, rod-shaped, non-spore forming, non-motile organism, designated SK-1 , was isolated from human gingival sulcus and found to produce acetic acid, propionic acid, lactic acid, and succinic acid as end products of glucose fermentation. Strain SK-1 is most closely related to Pseudopropionibacterium (Propionibacterium) propionicum with sequence homologies of the 16S rRNA and RNA polymerase β subunit (rpoB) genes of 96.6% and 93.

Regulation of the NLRP3 inflammasome in Porphyromonas gingivalis-accelerated periodontal disease.

Objective: Porphyromonas gingivalis is involved in the pathogenesis of chronic inflammatory periodontal disease. Recent studies have suggested that the NLRP3 inflammasome plays an important role in the development of chronic inflammation. We investigated a possible association between the inflammasome in gingival inflammation and bone loss induced by P.

Activation of the NLRP3 inflammasome in Porphyromonas gingivalis-accelerated atherosclerosis.

Porphyromonas gingivalis has been shown to accelerate atherosclerotic lesion development in hyperlipidemic animals. Atherosclerosis is a disease characterized by inflammation of the arterial wall. Recent studies have suggested that the NLRP3 inflammasome plays an important role in the development of vascular inflammation and atherosclerosis.

Porphyromonas gingivalis infection enhances Th17 responses for development of atherosclerosis.

Objectives: Porphyromonas gingivalis has been shown to associate with the development of atherosclerosis. Recent studies indicate that IL-17-producing T helper 17 (Th17) cells have been correlated with the emergence of atherosclerosis. Therefore, we investigated whether the Th17 cell response and expression of Th17-related molecules, in contrast with Th1- and Treg cells, are enhanced by P.

Midazolam inhibits IgE production in mice via suppression of class switch recombination.

Anaphylactic shock is characterized by increased capillary permeability and a decline in blood pressure due to excessive production of IgE. Midazolam (MDZ) is reported to have immunomodulatory properties. However, little is known about the effect of MDZ on the production of IgE antibody.

Nasal immunization with the 40-kDa outer membrane protein of Porphyromonas gingivalis plus cholera toxin induces protective immunity in aged mice.

Previous studies have demonstrated that nasal administration of the outer membrane protein of Porphyromonas gingivalis (40k-OMP) with cholera toxin (CT) as an adjuvant elicits protective immune responses against P. gingivalis in young mice. In the present study, we investigated whether administration of 40k-OMP plus CT would also induce 40k-OMP-specific antibody (Ab) responses to provide protective immunity against P.

Functional transforming growth factor-β receptor type II expression by CD4+ T cells in Peyer's patches is essential for oral tolerance induction.

Our previous studies have shown that Peyer's patches (PPs) play a key role in the induction of oral tolerance. Therefore, we hypothesized that PPs are an important site for Transforming Growth Factor (TGF)-β signaling and sought to prove that this tissue is of importance in oral tolerance induction. We found that expression of TGF-β type II receptor (TGFβRII) by CD4(+) T cells increases and persists in the PPs of normal C57BL/6 mice after either high- or low-dose feeding of OVA when compared to mesenteric lymph nodes (MLNs) and spleen.

Sublingual vaccination with fusion protein consisting of the functional domain of hemagglutinin A of Porphyromonas gingivalis and Escherichia coli maltose-binding protein elicits protective immunity in the oral cavity.

This study demonstrated that sublingual immunization with a fusion protein, 25k-hagA-MBP, which consists of a 25-kDa antigenic region of hemagglutinin A purified from Porphyromonas gingivalis fused to maltose-binding protein (MBP) originating from Escherichia coli as an adjuvant, elicited protective immune responses. Immunization with 25k-hagA-MBP induced high levels of antigen-specific serum IgG and IgA, as well as salivary IgA. High level titers of serum IgG and IgA were also induced for almost 1 year.

Porphyromonas gingivalis accelerates atherosclerosis in C57BL/6 mice fed a high-fat diet.

Objective: Porphyromonas gingivalis has been shown to accelerate atherosclerotic lesion development in atherosclerotic apo E-deficient mice. Here, we investigated whether repeated P. gingivalis injection affected the inflammatory and atherosclerotic responses of C57BL/6 mice fed a high-fat diet (HFD).

Oral-nasopharyngeal dendritic cells mediate T cell-independent IgA class switching on B-1 B cells.

Native cholera toxin (nCT) as a nasal adjuvant was shown to elicit increased levels of T-independent S-IgA antibody (Ab) responses through IL-5- IL-5 receptor interactions between CD4+ T cells and IgA+ B-1 B cells in murine submandibular glands (SMGs) and nasal passages (NPs). Here, we further investigate whether oral-nasopharyngeal dendritic cells (DCs) play a central role in the induction of B-1 B cell IgA class switch recombination (CSR) for the enhancement of T cell-independent (TI) mucosal S-IgA Ab responses. High expression levels of activation-induced cytidine deaminase, Iα-Cμ circulation transcripts and Iμ-Cα transcripts were seen on B-1 B cells purified from SMGs and NPs of both TCRβ⁻/⁻ mice and wild-type mice given nasal trinitrophenyl (TNP)-LPS plus nCT, than in the same tissues of mice given nCT or TNP-LPS alone.