Evidence of cross gene regulation of some virulence factors of Porphyromonas gingivalis by Streptococcus intermedius

Periodontal disease has been associated with poor dental care, which promotes the accumulation of bacteria and the development of diseases of the mouth. Porphyromonas gingivalis are anaerobic Gramnegative bacteria found in the subgingival plaque. They are largely responsible for chronic periodontal disease. Streptococcus intermedius is a Gram positive coccus found in the supragingival plaque. The objective of the present work was to evaluate the expression of several virulence genes of P. gingivalis in a mixed culture with S. intermedius using qPCR and heterologous microarrays. P. gingivalis ATCC 33277 and W83 and S. intermedius ATCC 27335 strains were cultured and total RNA was extracted using the High Pure RNA isolation kit. Oligodeoxynucleotides were designed to make multiple comparisons with organisms. Microarray was performed to identify gene expression. To quantify gene expression, cDNA samples from three different P. gingivalis:S. intermedius ratios were diluted 10-1, 10-2 and 10-3. The microarray experiment indicated that in P. gingivalis, 29 genes were upregulated. The putative function of upregulated genes was the biosynthesis of different metabolic pathways. Heterologous microarrays are a new approach that are useful for investigating gene expression.Keywords: Porphyromonas gingivalis, Streptococcus intermedius, periodontal disease, virulence genes, cross gene regulation.African Journal of Biotechnology Vol. 12(28), pp. 4498-450

Facial Sadness Recognition is Modulated by Estrogen Receptor Gene Polymorphisms in Healthy Females

Polymorphisms of the estrogen receptor ESR1 and ESR2 genes have been linked with cognitive deficits and affective disorders. The effects of these genetic variants on emotional processing in females with low estrogen levels are not well known. The aim was to explore the impact of the ESR1 and ESR2 genes on the responses to the facial emotion recognition task in females. Postmenopausal healthy female volunteers were genotyped for the polymorphisms Xbal and PvuII of ESR1 and the polymorphism rs1256030 of ESR2. The effect of these polymorphisms on the response to the facial emotion recognition of the emotions happiness, sadness, disgust, anger, surprise, and fear was analyzed. Females carrying the P allele of the PvuII polymorphism or the X allele of the Xbal polymorphism of ESR1 easily recognized facial expressions of sadness that were more difficult for the women carrying the p allele or the x allele. They displayed higher accuracy, fast response time, more correct responses, and fewer omissions to complete the task, with a large effect size. Women carrying the ESR2 C allele of ESR2 showed a faster response time for recognizing facial expressions of anger. These findings link ESR1 and ESR2 polymorphisms in facial emotion recognition of negative emotions