Periodontal disease and atherosclerosis from the viewpoint of the relationship between community periodontal index of treatment needs and brachial-ankle pulse wave velocity

BACKGROUND: It has been suggested that periodontal disease may be an independent risk factor for the development of atherosclerosis. However, the relationship between periodontal disease and atherosclerosis has not been fully elucidated. This study aimed to assess the effects of periodontal disease on atherosclerosis. METHODS: The study design was a cross-sectional study. Subjects were 291 healthy male workers in Japan. We used the Community Periodontal Index of Treatment Needs (CPITN) score, average probing depth and gingival bleeding index (rate of bleeding gums) to assess the severity of periodontal disease. We also used the Brachial-Ankle Pulse Wave Velocity (baPWV) as the index for the development of atherosclerosis. RESULTS: The unadjusted odds ratio (OR) of atherosclerosis in relation to the CPITN score was 1.41 [95% CI: 1.16–1.73]. However, after adjustment for age, systolic blood pressure and smoking, the CPITN score had no relationship with atherosclerosis (adjusted OR: 0.91 [0.68–1.20]). CONCLUSION: Our results show no relationship between mild periodontal disease and atherosclerosis after appropriate adjustments

Characterization of AKT independent effects of the synthetic AKT inhibitors SH-5 and SH-6 using an integrated approach combining transcriptomic profiling and signaling pathway perturbations

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Signal transduction processes mediated by phosphatidyl inositol phosphates affect a broad range of cellular processes such as cell cycle progression, migration and cell survival. The protein kinase AKT is one of the major effectors in this signaling network. Chronic AKT activation contributes to oncogenic transformation and tumor development. Therefore, analogs of phosphatidyl inositol phosphates (PIAs) were designed as new small drugs to block AKT activity for cancer treatment. Here we characterize the biological effects of the PIAs SH-5 and SH-6 in colorectal cancer cell lines.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Serum-starved or serum-supplemented human colorectal cancer cell lines SW480, HT29 and HCT116 were exposed to SH-5 and SH-6. AKT activation was determined by western blotting. Cell viability was assessed using a colorimetric XTT-based assay, apoptosis and cell cycle changes were monitored by FACS analysis. The dynamics of cell morphology alterations was evaluated by confocal and time-lapse microscopy. Transcriptional changes due to inhibitor treatment were analyzed using Affymetrix HG-U133A microarrays and RT-PCR.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>While the PIAs clearly reduce AKT phosphorylation in serum starved cells, we did not observe a significant reduction under serum supplemented conditions, giving us the opportunity to analyze AKT independent effects of these compounds. Both inhibitors induce broadly the same morphological alterations, in particular changes in cell shape and formation of intracellular vesicles. Moreover, we observed the induction of binucleated cells specifically in the SW480 cell line. Gene expression analysis revealed transcriptional alterations, which are mostly cell line specific. In accordance to the phenotype we found a gene group associated with mitosis and spindle organization down regulated in SW480 cells, but not in the other cell lines. A bioinformatics analysis using the Connectivity Map linked the gene expression pattern of the inhibitor treated SW480 cells to PKC signaling. Using confocal laser scanning microscopy and time lapse recording we identified a specific defect in the last step of the cytokinesis as responsible for the binucleation.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>The PIAs SH-5 and SH-6 impinge on additional cellular targets apart from AKT in colorectal cancer cells. The effects are mostly cell line specific and have an influence at the outcome of the treatment. In view of potential clinical trials it will be necessary to take these diverse effects into consideration to optimize patient treatment.</p

Contribution of TAT System Translocated PhoX to Campylobacter jejuni Phosphate Metabolism and Resilience to Environmental Stresses

Campylobacter jejuni is a common gastrointestinal pathogen that colonizes food animals; it is transmitted via fecal contamination of food, and infections in immune-compromised people are more likely to result in serious long-term illness. Environmental phosphate is likely an important sensor of environmental fitness and the ability to obtain extracellular phosphate is central to the bacteria's core metabolic responses. PhoX is the sole alkaline phosphatase in C. jejuni, a substrate of the TAT transport system. Alkaline phosphatases mediate the hydrolytic removal of inorganic phosphate (Pi) from phospho-organic compounds and thereby contribute significantly to the polyphosphate kinase 1 (ppk1) mediated formation of poly P, a molecule that regulates bacterial response to stresses and virulence. Similarly, deletion of the tatC gene, a key component of the TAT system, results in diverse phenotypes in C. jejuni including reduced stress tolerance and in vivo colonization. Therefore, here we investigated the contribution of phoX in poly P synthesis and in TAT-system mediated responses. The phoX deletion mutant showed significant decrease (P<0.05) in poly P accumulation in stationary phase compared to the wild-type, suggesting that PhoX is a major contributor to the inorganic phosphate pool in the cell which is essential for poly P synthesis. The phoX deletion is sufficient for a nutrient stress defect similar to the defect previously described for the ΔtatC mutant. Additionally, the phoX deletion mutant has increased resistance to certain antimicrobials. The ΔphoX mutant was also moderately defective in invasion and intracellular survival within human intestinal epithelial cells as well as in chicken colonization. Further, the ΔphoX mutant produced increased biofilm that can be rescued with 1 mM inorganic phosphate. The qRT-PCR of the ΔphoX mutant revealed transcriptional changes that suggest potential mechanisms for the increased biofilm phenotype

Microbial Co-occurrence Relationships in the Human Microbiome

The healthy microbiota show remarkable variability within and among individuals. In addition to external exposures, ecological relationships (both oppositional and symbiotic) between microbial inhabitants are important contributors to this variation. It is thus of interest to assess what relationships might exist among microbes and determine their underlying reasons. The initial Human Microbiome Project (HMP) cohort, comprising 239 individuals and 18 different microbial habitats, provides an unprecedented resource to detect, catalog, and analyze such relationships. Here, we applied an ensemble method based on multiple similarity measures in combination with generalized boosted linear models (GBLMs) to taxonomic marker (16S rRNA gene) profiles of this cohort, resulting in a global network of 3,005 significant co-occurrence and co-exclusion relationships between 197 clades occurring throughout the human microbiome. This network revealed strong niche specialization, with most microbial associations occurring within body sites and a number of accompanying inter-body site relationships. Microbial communities within the oropharynx grouped into three distinct habitats, which themselves showed no direct influence on the composition of the gut microbiota. Conversely, niches such as the vagina demonstrated little to no decomposition into region-specific interactions. Diverse mechanisms underlay individual interactions, with some such as the co-exclusion of Porphyromonaceae family members and Streptococcus in the subgingival plaque supported by known biochemical dependencies. These differences varied among broad phylogenetic groups as well, with the Bacilli and Fusobacteria, for example, both enriched for exclusion of taxa from other clades. Comparing phylogenetic versus functional similarities among bacteria, we show that dominant commensal taxa (such as Prevotellaceae and Bacteroides in the gut) often compete, while potential pathogens (e.g. Treponema and Prevotella in the dental plaque) are more likely to co-occur in complementary niches. This approach thus serves to open new opportunities for future targeted mechanistic studies of the microbial ecology of the human microbiome.National Institutes of Health (U.S.) (grant CA139193)Fonds Wetenschappelijk Onderzoek – VlaanderenJuvenile Diabetes Research Foundation InternationalNational Institutes of Health (U.S.) (grant NIH U54HG004969)Crohn's and Colitis Foundation of AmericaNational Science Foundation (U.S.) (NSF DBI-1053486)United States. Army Research Office (ARO W911NF-11-1-0473)National Institutes of Health (U.S.) (grant NIH 1R01HG005969

The thrombotic potential of oral pathogens

In recent times the concept of infectious agents playing a role in cardiovascular disease has attracted much attention. Chronic oral disease such as periodontitis, provides a plausible route for entry of bacteria to the circulation. Upon entry to the circulation, the oral bacteria interact with platelets. It has been proposed that their ability to induce platelet aggregation and support platelet adhesion is a critical step in the pathogenesis of the infection process. Many published studies have demonstrated multiple mechanisms through which oral bacteria are able to bind to and activate platelets. This paper will review the various mechanisms oral bacteria use to interact with platelets

Cardiovascular disease and the role of oral bacteria

In terms of the pathogenesis of cardiovascular disease (CVD) the focus has traditionally been on dyslipidemia. Over the decades our understanding of the pathogenesis of CVD has increased, and infections, including those caused by oral bacteria, are more likely involved in CVD progression than previously thought. While many studies have now shown an association between periodontal disease and CVD, the mechanisms underpinning this relationship remain unclear. This review gives a brief overview of the host-bacterial interactions in periodontal disease and virulence factors of oral bacteria before discussing the proposed mechanisms by which oral bacterial may facilitate the progression of CVD

Consensus guidelines for the use and interpretation of angiogenesis assays

The formation of new blood vessels, or angiogenesis, is a complex process that plays important roles in growth and development, tissue and organ regeneration, as well as numerous pathological conditions. Angiogenesis undergoes multiple discrete steps that can be individually evaluated and quantified by a large number of bioassays. These independent assessments hold advantages but also have limitations. This article describes in vivo, ex vivo, and in vitro bioassays that are available for the evaluation of angiogenesis and highlights critical aspects that are relevant for their execution and proper interpretation. As such, this collaborative work is the first edition of consensus guidelines on angiogenesis bioassays to serve for current and future reference