Exopolysaccharide dispelled by calcium hydroxide with volatile vehicles related to bactericidal effect for root canal medication

Objective: Enterococcus faecalis is the dominant microbial species responsible for persistent apical periodontitis with ability to deeply penetrate into the dentin. Exopolysaccharides (EPS) contribute to the pathogenicity and antibiotic resistance of E. faecalis. Our aim was to investigate the antimicrobial activity of calcium hydroxide (CH), camphorated parachlorophenol (CMCP), and chlorhexidine (CHX) against E. faecalis in dentinal tubules. Material and Methods: Decoronated single-canal human teeth and semicylindrical dentin blocks were incubated with E. faecalis for 3 weeks. Samples were randomly assigned to six medication groups for 1 week (n=10 per group): CH + 40% glycerin-water solution (1:1, wt/vol); CMCP; 2% CHX; CH + CMCP (1:1, wt/vol); CH + CMCP (2:3, wt/vol); and saline. Bacterial samples were collected and assayed for colony-forming units. After dentin blocks were split longitudinally, confocal laser scanning microscopy was used to assess the proportion of viable bacteria and EPS production in dentin. Results: CMCP exhibited the best antimicrobial activity, while CH was the least sensitive against E. faecalis (p;0.05). CH combined with CMCP inhibited EPS synthesis by E. faecalis, which sensitized biofilms to antibacterial substances. Moreover, increasing concentrations of CMCP decreased EPS matrix formation, which effectively sensitized biofilms to disinfection agents. Conclusion: The EPS matrix dispelled by CH paste with CMCP may be related to its bactericidal effect; the visualization and analysis of EPS formation and microbial colonization in dentin may be a useful approach to verify medicaments for antimicrobial therapy

Coupling of Cell Surface Biotinylation and SILAC-Based Quantitative Proteomics Identified Myoferlin as a Potential Therapeutic Target for Nasopharyngeal Carcinoma Metastasis

Distant metastasis is a major cause of treatment failure in nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) patients. Cell surface proteins represent attractive targets for cancer diagnosis or therapy. However, the cell surface proteins associated with NPC metastasis are poorly understood. To identify potential therapeutic targets for NPC metastasis, we isolated cell surface proteins from two isogenic NPC cell lines, 6-10B (low metastatic) and 5-8F (highly metastatic), through cell surface biotinylation. Stable isotope labeling by amino acids in cell culture (SILAC) based proteomics was applied to comprehensively characterize the cell surface proteins related with the metastatic phenotype. We identified 294 differentially expressed cell surface proteins, including the most upregulated protein myoferlin (MYOF), two receptor tyrosine kinases(RTKs) epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) and ephrin type-A receptor 2 (EPHA2) and several integrin family molecules. These differentially expressed proteins are enriched in multiple biological pathways such as the FAK-PI3K-mTOR pathway, focal adhesions, and integrin-mediated cell adhesion. The knockdown of MYOF effectively suppresses the proliferation, migration and invasion of NPC cells. Immunohistochemistry analysis also showed that MYOF is associated with NPC metastasis. We experimentally confirmed, for the first time, that MYOF can interact with EGFR and EPHA2. Moreover, MYOF knockdown could influence not only EGFR activity and its downstream epithelial–mesenchymal transition (EMT), but also EPHA2 ligand-independent activity. These findings suggest that MYOF might be an attractive potential therapeutic target that has double effects of simultaneously influencing EGFR and EPHA2 signaling pathway. In conclusion, this is the first study to profile the cell surface proteins associated with NPC metastasis and provide valuable resource for future researches

Chinese herbal medicine formula combined with calcium antagonist in the treatment of hypertension: a systematic review and meta-analysis

Objective: Chinese herbal medicine formula and calcium antagonist are commonly used medicines for hypertension in China. This study aims to examine the efficacy and safety of for the treatment of Chinese herbal medicine formula combined calcium antagonist hypertension. Methods: PubMed, the Cochrane library, CNKI, VIP, Sinomed, and Wanfang Database were searched up to January 31, 2021. Data analysis was performed using the Recman 5.3. The source of clinical heterogeneity used stata16.0 for sensitivity analysis. Results: 17 RCTs and 1587 cases were finally included. The results shows that the traditional Chinese medicine decoction combined with calcium antagonists is better than calcium antagonists alone in the treatment of hypertension. In addition, it can effectively alleviate the adverse reactions caused by calcium antagonists. However, due to the low quality of methodology and the small-scale research, more high-quality clinical trials are still needed for verification

Exopolysaccharide dispelled by calcium hydroxide with volatile vehicles related to bactericidal effect for root canal medication

ABSTRACT Objective: Enterococcus faecalis is the dominant microbial species responsible for persistent apical periodontitis with ability to deeply penetrate into the dentin. Exopolysaccharides (EPS) contribute to the pathogenicity and antibiotic resistance of E. faecalis. Our aim was to investigate the antimicrobial activity of calcium hydroxide (CH), camphorated parachlorophenol (CMCP), and chlorhexidine (CHX) against E. faecalis in dentinal tubules. Material and Methods: Decoronated single-canal human teeth and semicylindrical dentin blocks were incubated with E. faecalis for 3 weeks. Samples were randomly assigned to six medication groups for 1 week (n=10 per group): CH + 40% glycerin-water solution (1:1, wt/vol); CMCP; 2% CHX; CH + CMCP (1:1, wt/vol); CH + CMCP (2:3, wt/vol); and saline. Bacterial samples were collected and assayed for colony-forming units. After dentin blocks were split longitudinally, confocal laser scanning microscopy was used to assess the proportion of viable bacteria and EPS production in dentin. Results: CMCP exhibited the best antimicrobial activity, while CH was the least sensitive against E. faecalis (p0.05). CH combined with CMCP inhibited EPS synthesis by E. faecalis, which sensitized biofilms to antibacterial substances. Moreover, increasing concentrations of CMCP decreased EPS matrix formation, which effectively sensitized biofilms to disinfection agents. Conclusion: The EPS matrix dispelled by CH paste with CMCP may be related to its bactericidal effect; the visualization and analysis of EPS formation and microbial colonization in dentin may be a useful approach to verify medicaments for antimicrobial therapy

Ganglioside GM3-Functionalized Reconstituted High-Density Lipoprotein (GM3-rHDL) as a Novel Nanocarrier Enhances Antiatherosclerotic Efficacy of Statins in apoE−/− C57BL/6 Mice

Previously, we found that exogenous ganglioside GM3 had an antiatherosclerotic efficacy and that its antiatherosclerotic efficacy could be enhanced by reconstituted high-density lipoprotein (rHDL). In this study, we hypothesized that GM3-functionalized rHDL (i.e., GM3-rHDL) as a nanocarrier can promote the efficacy of traditional antiatherosclerotic drugs (e.g., statins). To test this hypothesis, lovastatin (LT) was used as a representative of statins, and LT-loaded GM3-rHDL nanoparticle (LT-GM3-rHDL or LT@GM3-rHDL; a mean size of ~142 nm) and multiple controls (e.g., GM3-rHDL without LT, LT-loaded rHDL or LT-rHDL, and other nanoparticles) were prepared. By using two different microsphere-based methods, the presences of apolipoprotein A-I (apoA-I) and/or GM3 in nanoparticles and the apoA-I-mediated macrophage-targeting ability of apoA-I/rHDL-containing nanoparticles were verified in vitro. Moreover, LT-GM3-rHDL nanoparticle had a slowly sustained LT release in vitro and the strongest inhibitory effect on the foam cell formation of macrophages (a key event of atherogenesis). After single administration of rHDL-based nanoparticles, a higher LT concentration was detected shortly in the atherosclerotic plaques of apoE−/− mice than non-rHDL-based nanoparticles, suggesting the in vivo plaque-targeting ability of apoA-I/rHDL-containing nanoparticles. Finally, among all nanoparticles LT-GM3-rHDL induced the largest decreases in the contents of blood lipids and in the areas of atherosclerotic plaques at various aortic locations in apoE−/− mice fed a high-fat diet for 12 weeks, supporting that LT-GM3-rHDL has the best in vivo antiatherosclerotic efficacy among the tested nanoparticles. Our data imply that GM3-functionalized rHDL (i.e., GM3-rHDL) can be utilized as a novel nanocarrier to enhance the efficacy of traditional antiatherosclerotic drugs (e.g., statins)

A novel (La0.2Ce0.2Gd0.2Er0.2Tm0.2)2(WO4)3 high-entropy ceramic material for thermal neutron and gamma-ray shielding

In this study, a new type of (La0.2Ce0.2Gd0.2Er0.2Tm0.2)2(WO4)3 single-phase high-entropy ceramic (HEC) powder was designed, prepared by solid-phase synthesis, and evenly mixed into an epoxy resin (EP) matrix to test the thermal neutron and γ-ray shielding performance. In terms of γ-ray shielding, (La0.2Ce0.2Gd0.2Er0.2Tm0.2)2(WO4)3 showed a higher lead equivalent value than EP at 65 keV, indicating a clear shielding effect in the feeble absorbing area of lead-based and bismuth-based materials; moreover, (La0.2Ce0.2Gd0.2Er0.2Tm0.2)2(WO4)3 showed good γ-ray shielding performance in both low-energy and medium-energy regions. In terms of thermal neutron shielding, the composite with the highest HEC content (EP/W3) had a nearly 100% shielding efficiency, while that of EP was approximately 50%, indicating that this material has favorable thermal neutron and γ-ray shielding performance. Moreover, the thermal conductivity of the resulting composite material was lower than 0.3 W·m−1·K−1, the tensile strength was higher than 10 MPa, and the density was lower than 1.5 g·cm−3. All these results suggest that (La0.2Ce0.2Gd0.2Er0.2Tm0.2)2(WO4)3 is a candidate radiation shielding material

Evaluation of Gamma Interferon Release Assays Using Mycobacterium tuberculosis Antigens for Diagnosis of Latent and Active Tuberculosis in Mycobacterium bovis BCG-Vaccinated Populations▿

T-cell-based gamma interferon (IFN-γ) release assays (IGRAs) using Mycobacterium tuberculosis-specific antigens have shown higher sensitivity and specificity than the routine tuberculin skin test (TST). However, the effects of Mycobacterium bovis BCG vaccination and anti-tuberculosis (TB) treatment on dynamic T-cell responses to M. tuberculosis-specific antigens in active TB cases have rarely been investigated in regions where TB is endemic. Eighty-nine patients with active pulmonary TB (ATB) and 57 healthy controls (HC) from China were recruited and tested by sputum smear and culture, TSTs, and IGRAs with M. tuberculosis-specific antigens ESAT-6 and CFP-10 (T-SPOT.TB) as well as purified protein derivative (PPD) stimulation. All 146 participants were screened by the T-SPOT.TB assay at recruitment. T-SPOT.TB-positive rates in ATB and HC groups were 87.6% (78/89) and 21.1% (12/57), respectively. Of 38 ATB patients who were both TST and T-SPOT.TB tested, the positive rates were 73.7% (28/38) and 94.7% (36/38), respectively (P = 0.0215), and those in the HC group were 62.3% (33/53) and 18.9% (10/53), respectively (P < 0.0001). The T-SPOT.TB-positive rates declined during TB treatment and were 94.4% (51/54), 86.4% (19/22), and 61.5% (8/13) for ATB patients receiving 0- to 1-month, 1- to 3-month, and 3- to 6-month anti-TB treatment, respectively. The IGRA is a most promising test for both active TB and latent TB infection (LTBI) diagnosis due to the improvement of its specificity and convenience, especially in the Mycobacterium bovis BCG-vaccinated population. Furthermore, the T-SPOT.TB assay using ESAT-6 and CFP-10 in ATB patients during anti-TB treatment could serve as a potential predictor of therapeutic efficacy