Vitamin D Modulates Intestinal Microbiota in Inflammatory Bowel Diseases.

Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) is a chronic inflammation of the gastrointestinal tract (GIT), including Crohn's disease (CD) and ulcerative colitis (UC), which differ in the location and lesion extensions. Both diseases are associated with microbiota dysbiosis, with a reduced population of butyrate-producing species, abnormal inflammatory response, and micronutrient deficiency (e.g.

Paneth Cell Alertness to Pathogens Maintained by Vitamin D Receptors.

Background And Aims: Vitamin D exerts a regulatory role over mucosal immunity via the vitamin D receptor (VDR). Although Paneth cells and their products are known to regulate the commensal and pathogenic microbiota, the role that VDRs in Paneth cells play in these responses is unknown.

Methods: We identified the decreased intestinal VDR significantly correlated with reduction of an inflammatory bowel disease risk gene ATG16L1 and Paneth cell lysozymes in patients with Crohn's disease.

Work-Sampling Study of an Innovative Care Coordination Program Aimed at Children With Chronic Health Conditions.

Purpose Of Study: To estimate time allocation and labor cost for care coordinators (CCs), community health workers (CHWs), and mental health workers (MHWs) to conduct care coordination tasks in a pediatric care coordination program.

Primary Practice Setting: A public tertiary academic medical center in Chicago, IL.

Methodology And Sample: A work-sampling study was conducted using a text message-based survey on 5 CCs, 20 CHWs, and 4 MHWs who volunteered to participate.

Gut instincts: vitamin D/vitamin D receptor and microbiome in neurodevelopment disorders.

The gut microbiome regulates a relationship with the brain known as the gut-microbiota-brain (GMB) axis. This interaction is influenced by immune cells, microbial metabolites and neurotransmitters. Recent findings show gut dysbiosis is prevalent in autism spectrum disorder (ASD) as well as attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).

A simple and sensitive method to detect vitamin D receptor expression in various disease models using stool samples.

Vitamin D receptor (VDR) executes the main biological functions of its ligand vitamin D. VDR/vitamin D plays critical roles in regulating host immunity, maintaining barrier functions, and shaping gut microbiome. Reduction of intestinal VDR has been reported in various diseases, including inflammatory diseases and colon cancer.

Lactic Acid Bacteria Isolated From Korean Kimchi Activate the Vitamin D Receptor-autophagy Signaling Pathways.

Background: Probiotic lactic acid bacteria (LAB) have been used in the anti-inflammation and anti-infection process of various diseases, including inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). Vitamin D receptor (VDR) plays an essential role in pathogenesis of IBD and infectious diseases. Previous studies have demonstrated that the human VDR gene is a key host factor to shape gut microbiome.

Site-Specific Expression Pattern of PIWI-Interacting RNA in Skin and Oral Mucosal Wound Healing.

The oral mucosa exhibits exceptional healing capability when compared to skin. Recent studies suggest that intrinsic differences in coding genes and regulatory small non-coding RNA (sncRNA) genes (e.g.

Influence of the Gut Microbiome, Diet, and Environment on Risk of Colorectal Cancer.

Researchers have discovered associations between elements of the intestinal microbiome (including specific microbes, signaling pathways, and microbiota-related metabolites) and risk of colorectal cancer (CRC). However, it is unclear whether changes in the intestinal microbiome contribute to the development of sporadic CRC or result from it. Changes in the intestinal microbiome can mediate or modify the effects of environmental factors on risk of CRC.

Overexpression of the Oral Mucosa-Specific microRNA-31 Promotes Skin Wound Closure.

Wounds within the oral mucosa are known to heal more rapidly than skin wounds. Recent studies suggest that differences in the microRNAome profiles may underlie the exceptional healing that occurs in oral mucosa. Here, we test whether skin wound-healing can be accelerating by increasing the levels of oral mucosa-specific microRNAs.

Differential microRNA profile underlies the divergent healing responses in skin and oral mucosal wounds.

Oral mucosal wounds heal faster than skin wounds, yet the role of microRNAs in this differential healing has never been examined. To delineate the role of microRNAs in this site-specific injury response, we first compared the microRNAome of uninjured skin and oral mucosa in mice. A total of 53 tissue-specific microRNAs for skin and oral mucosa epithelium were identified.

Laser Capture Microdissection of Epithelium from a Wound Healing Model for MicroRNA Analysis.

MicroRNAs are ~22 nucleotide-long noncoding RNAs influencing many cellular processes (including wound healing) by their regulatory functions on gene expression. The ability to analyze microRNA in different cells at the wound site is essential for understanding the critical role(s) of microRNA during various phases of wound healing. Laser capture micro-dissection (LCM) is an effective method to distinguish between relevant and non-relevant cells or tissues and enables the researcher to obtain homogeneous, ultra-pure samples from heterogeneous starting material.

miR-486-3p, miR-139-5p, and miR-21 as Biomarkers for the Detection of Oral Tongue Squamous Cell Carcinoma.

Oral tongue squamous cell carcinoma (TSCC) is a complex disease with extensive genetic and epigenetic defects, including microRNA deregulation. The aims of the present study were to test the feasibility of performing the microRNA profiling analysis on archived TSCC specimens and to assess the potential diagnostic utility of the identified microRNA biomarkers for the detection of TSCC. TaqMan array-based microRNA profiling analysis was performed on 10 archived TSCC samples and their matching normal tissues.

Pyruvate kinase M2 deregulation enhances the metastatic potential of tongue squamous cell carcinoma.

Pyruvate kinase M2 (PKM2) has been verified to correlate with the prognosis of many types of cancer. However, its role in the development and metastasis of tongue squamous cell carcinoma (TSCC) remains unclear. The immunohistochemistry (IHC) results confirmed that PKM2 is overexpressed in patients with TSCC.

miR-486-3p, miR-139-5p, and miR-21 as Biomarkers for the Detection of Oral Tongue Squamous Cell Carcinoma.

Oral tongue squamous cell carcinoma (TSCC) is a complex disease with extensive genetic and epigenetic defects, including microRNA deregulation. The aims of the present study were to test the feasibility of performing the microRNA profiling analysis on archived TSCC specimens and to assess the potential diagnostic utility of the identified microRNA biomarkers for the detection of TSCC. TaqMan array-based microRNA profiling analysis was performed on 10 archived TSCC samples and their matching normal tissues.

MicroRNA-21 regulates prostaglandin E2 signaling pathway by targeting 15-hydroxyprostaglandin dehydrogenase in tongue squamous cell carcinoma.

Background: Oral tongue squamous cell carcinoma (OTSCC) is one of the most aggressive forms of head and neck/oral cancer (HNOC), and is a complex disease with extensive genetic and epigenetic defects, including microRNA deregulation. Identifying the deregulation of microRNA-mRNA regulatory modules (MRMs) is crucial for understanding the role of microRNA in OTSCC.

Methods: A comprehensive bioinformatics analysis was performed to identify MRMs in HNOC by examining the correlation among differentially expressed microRNA and mRNA profiling datasets and integrating with 12 different sequence-based microRNA target prediction algorithms.

microRNA-21 and microRNA-375 from oral cytology as biomarkers for oral tongue cancer detection.

Objective: We previously performed a meta-analysis of microRNA profiling studies on head and neck/oral cancer (HNOC), and identified 11 consistently dysregulated microRNAs in HNOC. Here, we evaluate the diagnostic values of these microRNAs in oral tongue squamous cell carcinoma (OTSCC) using oral cytology samples.

Materials And Methods: The levels of 11 microRNAs were assessed in 39 oral cytology samples (19 OTSCC and 20 normal subjects), and 10 paired OTSCC and adjacent normal tissues.

Ecological paradigms to understand the dynamics of metastasis.

The process by which prostate cancer cells non-randomly disseminate to the bone to form lethal metastases remains unknown. Metastasis is the ultimate consequence of the long-range dispersal of a cancer cell from the primary tumor to a distant secondary site. In order to metastasize, the actively emigrating cell must move.

Subject-Based versus Population-Based Care after Radiation Exposure.

In a mass casualty radiation event situation, individualized therapy may overwhelm available resources and feasibility issues suggest a need for the development of population-based strategies. To investigate the efficacy of a population-based strategy, Chinese macaques (n = 46) underwent total-body irradiation and received preemptive antibiotics, IV hydration on predetermined postirradiation days and were then compared to macaques (n = 48) that received subject-based care in which blood transfusions, IV hydration, nutritional supplementation and antibiotic supportive measures were provided. Estimated radiation doses for LD30/60, LD50/60 and LD70/60 of animals with subject-based care: 6.

Tumor angiogenesis therapy using targeted delivery of Paclitaxel to the vasculature of breast cancer metastases.

Breast cancer aberrantly expresses tissue factor (TF) in cancer tissues and cancer vascular endothelial cells (VECs). TF plays a central role in cancer angiogenesis, growth, and metastasis and, as such, is a target for therapy and drug delivery. TF is the cognate receptor of factor VIIa (fVIIa).

Sodium butyrate facilitates reprogramming by derepressing OCT4 transactivity at the promoter of embryonic stem cell-specific miR-302/367 cluster.

Small-molecule inhibitors and microRNAs (miRNAs) are two newly emerging classes of tools for optimizing induced pluripotent stem cell (iPSC) generation. We report here that sodium butyrate (NaB), a small-molecule inhibitor of histone deacetylases (HDACs), upregulates transcriptional levels of the miR-302/367 cluster by enhancing Oct4 transcriptional activity at the miR-302/367 cluster promoter. NaB does not affect the OCT4 DNA-binding domain; instead it enhances transactivity of the OCT4 transactivation domains.

MicroRNA Deregulations in Head and Neck Squamous Cell Carcinomas.

Objectives: Head and neck/oral cancer, predominantly head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC), is the sixth most common cancer in the world. While substantial advances have been made to define the genomic alterations associated with head and neck/oral cancer, most studies are focused on protein coding genes. The aim of this article is to review the current literature on identified genomic aberrations of non-coding genes (e.

Identification of ChIP-seq mapped targets of HP1β due to bombesin/GRP receptor activation.

Epithelial cells lining the adult colon do not normally express gastrin-releasing peptide (GRP) or its receptor (GRPR). In contrast, GRP/GRPR can be aberrantly expressed in human colorectal cancer (CRC) including Caco-2 cells. We have previously shown that GRPR activation results in the up-regulation of HP1β, an epigenetic modifier of gene transcription.