Commensal Gut Microbiota Immunomodulatory Actions in Bone Marrow and Liver have Catabolic Effects on Skeletal Homeostasis in Health.

Despite knowledge the gut microbiota regulates bone mass, mechanisms governing the normal gut microbiota's osteoimmunomodulatory effects on skeletal remodeling and homeostasis are unclear in the healthy adult skeleton. Young adult specific-pathogen-free and germ-free mice were used to delineate the commensal microbiota's immunoregulatory effects on osteoblastogenesis, osteoclastogenesis, marrow T-cell hematopoiesis, and extra-skeletal endocrine organ function. We report the commensal microbiota has anti-anabolic effects suppressing osteoblastogenesis and pro-catabolic effects enhancing osteoclastogenesis, which drive bone loss in health.

A Preliminary Genome-Wide Association Study of Pain-Related Fear: Implications for Orofacial Pain.

Background: Acute and chronic orofacial pain can significantly impact overall health and functioning. Associations between fear of pain and the experience of orofacial pain are well-documented, and environmental, behavioral, and cognitive components of fear of pain have been elucidated. Little is known, however, regarding the specific genes contributing to fear of pain.

Current protocols in the management of oral submucous fibrosis: An update.

Oral submucous fibrosis (OSMF) is a debilitating condition of oral cavity which has significant potential for malignant transformation. In spite of over 20 years of research, the pathogenesis of the condition is still obscure and no single management modality is effective. Many OSMF treatment protocols have been proposed to alleviate the signs and symptoms of the disorder and there is overwhelming evidence that as areca nut is primary cause, stopping its use may have a considerable effect on symptoms rather than reversing pre-existing fibrosis.

Periodontal Status and Quality of Life: Impact of Fear of Pain and Dental Fear.

. Oral health-related quality of life (OHRQoL) is impacted by periodontal disease and orofacial pain. There is a limited research examining the impact of avoidance of care or physiological arousal related to the fear of pain response on periodontal-related OHRQoL.

Distribution and Quantity of Sites of John Cunningham Virus Persistence in Immunologically Healthy Patients: Correlation With John Cunningham Virus Antibody and Urine John Cunningham Virus DNA.

Importance: Although seroepidemiological studies indicate that greater than 50% of the population has been infected with John Cunningham virus (JCV), the sites of JCV persistence remain incompletely characterized.

Objective: To determine sites of JCV persistence in immunologically healthy individuals.

Design, Setting, And Participants: Tissue specimens from multiple sites including brain, renal, and nonrenal tissues were obtained at autopsy performed in the Department of Pathology at the University of Kentucky from 12 immunologically healthy patients between February 9, 2011, and November 27, 2012.

Recent Trends in Oral Cavity Cancer Research Support in the United States.

The objectives were to characterize oral cavity cancer (OCC) funding from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) with a secondary aim of comparing NIH support provided to OCC and other malignancies. NIH awards supporting OCC inquiry from 2000 to 2014 were accessed from the NIH RePORTER database. These data were used to evaluate temporal trends and the role of human papilloma virus and to determine the academic training and professional profiles of the principal investigators.

Death related to dental treatment: a systematic review.

Objective: The aim of this study was to identify factors associated with death in relation to dental care.

Study Design: A systematic review was performed according to the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses guidelines. PubMed, Dental and Oral Sciences Source, Web of Science, and the Cochrane database were searched, and the references of all retrieved articles were analyzed.

Repression of caspase-3 and RNA-binding protein HuR cleavage by cyclooxygenase-2 promotes drug resistance in oral squamous cell carcinoma.

A well-studied RNA-binding protein Hu Antigen-R (HuR), controls post-transcriptional gene regulation and undergoes stress-activated caspase-3 dependent cleavage in cancer cells. The cleavage products of HuR are known to promote cell death; however, the underlying molecular mechanisms facilitating caspase-3 activation and HuR cleavage remains unknown. Here, we show that HuR cleavage associated with active caspase-3 in oral cancer cells treated with ionizing radiation and chemotherapeutic drug, paclitaxel.

Integrated biomarker profiling of smokers with periodontitis.

Background: In the context of precision medicine, understanding patient-specific variation is an important step in developing targeted and patient-tailored treatment regimens for periodontitis. While several studies have successfully demonstrated the usefulness of molecular expression profiling in conjunction with single classifier systems in discerning distinct disease groups, the majority of these studies do not provide sufficient insights into potential variations within the disease groups.

Aim: The goal of this study was to discern biological response profiles of periodontitis and non-periodontitis smoking subjects using an informed panel of biomarkers across multiple scales (salivary, oral microbiome, pathogens and other markers).

Mitogen-Activated Protein Kinase 2 Signaling Shapes Macrophage Plasticity in Aggregatibacter actinomycetemcomitans-Induced Bone Loss.

Aggregatibacter actinomycetemcomitans is associated with aggressive periodontal disease, which is characterized by inflammation-driven alveolar bone loss. A. actinomycetemcomitans activates the p38 mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) and MAPK-activated protein kinase 2 (MK2) stress pathways in macrophages that are involved in host responses.

Rosuvastatin Inhibits Interleukin (IL)-8 and IL-6 Production in Human Coronary Artery Endothelial Cells Stimulated With Aggregatibacter actinomycetemcomitans Serotype b.

Background: Rosuvastatin exhibits anti-inflammatory effects and reduces periodontal diseases and atherosclerosis; however, its role in regulating periodontopathogen-induced endothelial proinflammatory responses remains unclear. The purpose of this study is to determine whether rosuvastatin can reduce the proinflammatory response induced by Aggregatibacter actinomycetemcomitans (Aa) in human coronary artery endothelial cells (HCAECs).

Methods: HCAECs were stimulated with purified Aa serotype b lipopolysaccharide (LPS) (Aa-LPS), heat-killed (HK) bacteria (Aa-HK), or live bacteria.

HSV-1 clinical isolates with unique in vivo and in vitro phenotypes and insight into genomic differences.

Strain-specific factors contribute in significant but undefined ways to the variable incidence of herpes simplex virus (HSV) recrudescence. Studies that investigate these strain-specific factors are needed. Here, we used qPCR, in vitro assays, and genomic sequencing to identify important relationships between in vitro and clinical phenotypes of unique HSV-1 clinical isolates.

Toward a genetic understanding of dental fear: evidence of heritability.

Objectives: Dental fear is a prevalent problem that impacts dental treatment-seeking behavior and thus oral, systemic, and psychological health. Among other important predictors, fear of pain has been shown to be a critical component of dental fear. While learning history (id est, past experience) is known to shape development and maintenance of dental fear and fear of pain, minimal work has addressed genetic etiological variables for these healthcare-related anxieties.

RNA-Binding Protein FXR1 Regulates p21 and TERC RNA to Bypass p53-Mediated Cellular Senescence in OSCC.

RNA-binding proteins (RBP) regulate numerous aspects of co- and post-transcriptional gene expression in cancer cells. Here, we demonstrate that RBP, fragile X-related protein 1 (FXR1), plays an essential role in cellular senescence by utilizing mRNA turnover pathway. We report that overexpressed FXR1 in head and neck squamous cell carcinoma targets (G-quadruplex (G4) RNA structure within) both mRNA encoding p21 (Cyclin-Dependent Kinase Inhibitor 1A (CDKN1A, Cip1) and the non-coding RNA Telomerase RNA Component (TERC), and regulates their turnover to avoid senescence.

Fear of Pain Mediates the Association between MC1R Genotype and Dental Fear.

Fear of pain is experienced in acute and chronic pain populations, as well as in the general population, and it affects numerous aspects of the orofacial pain experience, including pain intensity, pain-related disability, and pain behavior (e.g., avoidance).

Salivary and serum adiponectin and C-reactive protein levels in acute myocardial infarction related to body mass index and oral health.

Background And Objective: Adiponectin is produced by adipose cells and is considered an anti-inflammatory molecule. In contrast, C-reactive protein (CRP) has been identified as a hallmark of systemic inflammation and used as a risk marker of cardiovascular disease (CVD). Of interest was the relationship of these two biomarkers to oral health and CVD risk.

Transcriptome Analysis of B Cell Immune Functions in Periodontitis: Mucosal Tissue Responses to the Oral Microbiome in Aging.

Evidence has shown activation of T and B cells in gingival tissues in experimental models and in humans diagnosed with periodontitis. The results of this adaptive immune response are noted both locally and systemically with antigenic specificity for an array of oral bacteria, including periodontopathic species, e.g.

Cross-talk between clinical and host-response parameters of periodontitis in smokers.

Background And Objective: Periodontal diseases are a major public health concern leading to tooth loss and have also been shown to be associated with several chronic systemic diseases. Smoking is a major risk factor for the development of numerous systemic diseases, as well as periodontitis. While it is clear that smokers have a significantly enhanced risk for developing periodontitis leading to tooth loss, the population varies regarding susceptibility to disease associated with smoking.

Cardiac ScoreCard: A Diagnostic Multivariate Index Assay System for Predicting a Spectrum of Cardiovascular Disease.

Clinical decision support systems (CDSSs) have the potential to save lives and reduce unnecessary costs through early detection and frequent monitoring of both traditional risk factors and novel biomarkers for cardiovascular disease (CVD). However, the widespread adoption of CDSSs for the identification of heart diseases has been limited, likely due to the poor interpretability of clinically relevant results and the lack of seamless integration between measurements and disease predictions. In this paper we present the Cardiac ScoreCard-a multivariate index assay system with the potential to assist in the diagnosis and prognosis of a spectrum of CVD.

Rapid assessment of salivary MMP-8 and periodontal disease using lateral flow immunoassay.

Objective: The objective of this study was to determine the efficacy of a novel point-of-care immunoflow device (POCID) for detecting matrix metalloproteinase (MMP)-8 concentrations in oral fluids in comparison with a gold standard laboratory-based immunoassay.

Methods: Oral rinse fluid and whole expectorated saliva samples were collected from 41 participants clinically classified as periodontally healthy or diseased. Samples were analyzed for MMP-8 by Luminex immunoassay and POCID.

Sphingosine-1-Phosphate Receptor 2 Regulates Proinflammatory Cytokine Production and Osteoclastogenesis.

Sphingosine-1-phosphate receptor 2 (S1PR2) couples with the Gi, Gq, and G12/13 group of proteins, which modulate an array of cellular signaling pathways and affect immune responses to multiple stimuli. In this study, we demonstrated that knockdown of S1PR2 by a specific S1PR2 shRNA lentiviral vector significantly inhibited IL-1β, IL-6, and TNF-α protein levels induced by oral pathogen Aggregatibacter actinomycetemcomitans (A. actinomycetemcomitans) in murine bone marrow-derived monocytes and macrophages (BMMs) compared with controls.

StreptoBase: An Oral Streptococcus mitis Group Genomic Resource and Analysis Platform.

The oral streptococci are spherical Gram-positive bacteria categorized under the phylum Firmicutes which are among the most common causative agents of bacterial infective endocarditis (IE) and are also important agents in septicaemia in neutropenic patients. The Streptococcus mitis group is comprised of 13 species including some of the most common human oral colonizers such as S. mitis, S.

Whole-Genome Sequencing and Comparative Analysis of Mycobacterium brisbanense Reveals a Possible Soil Origin and Capability in Fertiliser Synthesis.

Mycobacterium brisbanense is a member of Mycobacterium fortuitum third biovariant complex, which includes rapidly growing Mycobacterium spp. that normally inhabit soil, dust and water, and can sometimes cause respiratory tract infections in humans. We present the first whole-genome analysis of M.

Modelling changes in clinical attachment loss to classify periodontal disease progression.

Aim: The goal of this study was to identify progressing periodontal sites by applying linear mixed models (LMM) to longitudinal measurements of clinical attachment loss (CAL).

Methods: Ninety-three periodontally healthy and 236 periodontitis subjects had their CAL measured bi-monthly for 12 months. The proportions of sites demonstrating increases in CAL from baseline above specified thresholds were calculated for each visit.

A Randomized Clinical Trial Evaluating rh-FGF-2/β-TCP in Periodontal Defects.

Biological mediators have been used to enhance periodontal regeneration. The aim of this prospective randomized controlled study was to evaluate the safety and effectiveness of 3 doses of fibroblast growth factor 2 (FGF-2) when combined with a β-tricalcium phosphate (β-TCP) scaffold carrier placed in vertical infrabony periodontal defects in adult patients. In this double-blinded, dose-verification, externally monitored clinical study, 88 patients who required surgical intervention to treat a qualifying infrabony periodontal defect were randomized to 1 of 4 treatment groups-β-TCP alone (control) and 0.