ABSTRACTTannerella forsythiais strongly associated with chronic periodontitis, an inflammatory disease of the tooth-supporting tissues, leading to tooth loss.Fusobacterium nucleatum, an opportunistic pathogen, is thought to promote dental plaque formation by serving as a bridge bacterium between early- and late-colonizing species of the oral cavity. Previous studies have shown thatF. nucleatumspecies synergize withT. forsythiaduring biofilm formation and pathogenesis. In the present study, we showed that coinfection ofF. nucleatumandT. forsythiais more potent than infection with either species alone in inducing NF-κB activity and proinflammatory cytokine secretion in monocytic cells and primary murine macrophages. Moreover, in a murine model of periodontitis, mixed infection with the two species induces synergistic alveolar bone loss, characterized by bone loss which is greater than the additive alveolar bone losses induced by each species alone. Further, in comparison to the single-species infection, mixed infection caused significantly increased inflammatory cell infiltration in the gingivae and osteoclastic activity in the jaw bones. These data show thatF. nucleatumsubspecies andT. forsythiasynergistically stimulate the host immune response and induce alveolar bone loss in a murine experimental periodontitis model.
Primary malignant melanoma of the anus and rectum is a rare and aggressive neoplasm that tends to invade locally and metastasize early in the course of the disease. It is often misdiagnosed as hemorrhoids or as one of the other benign anorectal conditions and is thus linked to an overall poor prognosis and a 5-year survival rate of less than 20%. Optimal treatment is still controversial, and current evidence does not show any preferential survival benefit from abdominoperineal resection over wide local excision. Chemotherapy or radiotherapy may be used for advanced disease. We report a 71-year-old female presenting with painful bowel movements and blood in stools. She was eventually found to have a mass arising from the anorectal junction with regional lymph node involvement. The patient underwent an abdominoperineal resection and is currently scheduled for chemotherapy.
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