It is well recognized that mandibular growth, which is caused by a variety of functional appliances, is considered to be the result of both neuromuscular and skeletal adaptations. Accumulating evidence has demonstrated that apoptosis plays an important role in the adaptation of skeletal muscle function. However, the underlying mechanism of apoptosis that is induced by stretch continues to be incompletely understood. Endoplasmic reticulum stress (ERS), a newly defined signaling pathway, initiates apoptosis. This study seeks to determine if caspase-12 is involved in stretch-induced apoptosis mediated endoplasmic reticulum stress in myoblast and its underlying mechanism. Apoptosis was assessed by Hochest staining, DAPI staining and annexin V binding and PI staining. ER chaperones, such as GRP78, CHOP and caspase-12, were determined by reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) and Western blot. Furthermore, caspase-12 inhibitor was used to value the mechanism of the caspase-12 pathway. Apoptosis of myoblast, which is subjected to cyclic stretch, was observed in a time-dependent manner. We found that GRP78 mRNA and protein were significantly increased and CHOP and caspase-12 were activated in myoblast that was exposed to cyclic stretch. Caspase-12 inhibition reduced stretch-induced apoptosis, and caspase-12 activated caspase-3 to induce apoptosis. We concluded that caspase-12 played an important role in stretch-induced apoptosis that is associated by endoplasmic reticulum stress by activating caspase-3.

Gingiva-derived mesenchymal stromal cells (GMSCs) have been considered as a promising alternative strategy for periodontal regeneration based on their potential for multilineage differentiation in vitro and the ability to form new bone in vivo. In order to investigate the capacity of GMSCs for periodontal regeneration and the fate of GMSCs during periodontal tissue repair, enhanced green fluorescent protein-labeled GMSCs were transplanted into class III furcation defects created in beagle dogs. The results showed that the transplanted GMSCs significantly enhanced the regeneration of the damaged periodontal tissue, including the alveolar bone, cementum and functional periodontal ligament (PDL). Moreover, GMSCs were able to differentiate into osteoblasts, cementoblasts and PDL fibroblasts in vivo. These findings indicate that GMSCs represent a novel cell source for periodontal tissue reconstruction.

Objectives:Childhood obesity/underweight status and caries are both important public health problems. This study aims to investigate the caries status and its association with body weight in 8-year-old children in Qingdao, China.Materials and Methods:We initiated a cross-sectional investigation on 744 children aged 8 years during the Oral Health Survey in 2012. Dental caries assessments were carried out and weight status was recorded accordingly. The resulting caries status including caries prevalence, dmft (deciduous dentition), and (dmft + DMFT) (mixed dentition), as well as BMI indices were analyzed for comparison and correlation.Results:The prevalence of dental caries among the 744 children aged 8 years participating in this survey was 86.3%. The caries status represented by dmft (deciduous dentition) and (dmft + DMFT) (mixed dentition) values was 4.31 and 4.85, respectively, and the restoration rate was extremely low, which was no more than 3.0%. Significant difference was found in dmft/(dmft + DMFT) values between different BMI groups, and underweight individuals were found to have the highest dmft/(dmft + DMFT) value. An inverse relationship between body BMI and dmft/(dmft + DMFT) index was identified based on Pearson's correlation.Conclusions:A severe state of caries disease was revealed in 8-year-old children in the Chinese city of Qingdao, for whom urgent dental intervention and treatment were needed. Furthermore, underweight individuals were found with the most severe caries experience, indicating caries may affect the development and growth of the afflicted children. Thus, more emphasis should be placed on improving their dental health, with caries prevention being given the priority.

BackgroundTo evaluate in vitro susceptibilities of aerobic and facultative Gram-negative bacterial (GNB) isolates from intra-abdominal infections (IAIs) to 12 selected antimicrobials in Chinese hospitals from 2012 to 2014.MethodsHospital acquired (HA) and community acquired (CA) IAIs were collected from 21 centers in 16 Chinese cities. Extended spectrum beta-lactamase (ESBL) status and antimicrobial susceptibilities were determined at a central laboratory using CLSI broth microdilution and interpretive standards.ResultsFrom all isolated strains the Enterobacteriaceae (81.1%) Escherichia coli accounted for 45.4% and Klebsiella pneumoniae for 20.1%, followed by Enterobacter cloacae (5.2%), Proteus mirabilis (2.1%), Citrobacter freundii (1.8%), Enterobacter aerogenes (1.8%), Klebsiella oxytoca (1.4%), Morganella morganii (1.2%), Serratia marcescens (0.7%), Citrobacter koseri (0.3%), Proteus vulgaris (0.3%) and others (1.0%). Non- Enterobacteriaceae (18.9%) included Pseudomonas aeruginosa (9.8%), Acinetobacter baumannii (6.7%), Stenotrophomonas maltophilia (0.9%), Aeromonas hydrophila (0.4%) and others (1.1%). ESBL-screen positive Escherichia coli isolates (ESBL+) showed a decreasing trend from 67.5% in 2012 to 58.9% in 2014 of all Escherichia coli isolates and the percentage of ESBL+ Klebsiella pneumoniae isolates also decreased from 2012 through 2014 (40.4% to 26.6%), which was due to reduced percentages of ESBL+ isolates in HA IAIs for both bacteria. The overall susceptibilities of all 5160 IAI isolates were 87.53% to amikacin (AMK), 78.12% to piperacillin-tazobactam (TZP) 81.41% to imipenem (IMP) and 73.12% to ertapenem (ETP). The susceptibility of ESBL-screen positive Escherichia coli strains was 96.77%–98.8% to IPM, 91.26%–93.16% to ETP, 89.48%–92.75% to AMK and 84.86%–89.34% to TZP, while ESBL-screen positive Klebsiella pneumoniae strains were 70.56%–80.15% susceptible to ETP, 80.0%–87.5% to IPM, 83.82%–87.06% to AMK and 63.53%–68.38% to TZP within the three year study. Susceptibilities to all cephalosporins and fluoroquinolones were less than 50% beside 66.5% and 56.07% to cefoxitin (FOX) for ESBL+ Escherichia coli and Klebsiella pneumoniae strains respectively.ConclusionsThe total ESBL+ rates decreased in Escherichia coli and Klebsiella pneumoniae IAI isolates due to fewer prevalence in HA infections. IPM, ETP and AMK were the most effective antimicrobials against ESBL+ Escherichia coli and Klebsiella pneumoniae IAI isolates in 2012–2014 and a change of fluoroquinolone regimens for Chinese IAIs is recommended.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (10.1186/s12879-017-2873-z) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

Pg-LPS can stimulate VSMC calcification, which results in vascular calcification, further proving the precise relationship between periodontitis and vascular calcification.

No abstract

Ras homolog gene family member A (RhoA) has been identified as a critical regulator of tumor aggressive behavior. In this study, we assessed the role of RhoA in the mechanisms underlying growth, migration, and invasion of squamous cell carcinoma of tongue (TSCC). Stable RhoA knockdown of TSCC cell lines SCC-4 and CAL27 were achieved using Lentiviral transfection. The effects of RhoA depletion on cell migration, invasion, and cell proliferation were determined. The possible underlying mechanism of RhoA depletion on TSCC cell line was also evaluated by determining the expression of Galectin-3 (Gal-3), β-catenin, and matrix metalloproteinase-9 (MMP-9) in vivo. Meanwhile, the underlying mechanism of TSCC growth was studied by analysis of cyclin D1/2, p21CIP1/WAF1, and p27Kip1 protein levels. Immunohistochemical assessments were performed to further prove the alteration of Gal-3 and β-catenin expression. We found that, in mice injected with human TSCC cells in the tongue, RhoA levels were higher in primary tumors and metastasized lymph nodes compared with those in the normal tissues. Silencing of RhoA significantly reduced the tumor growth, decreased the levels of Gal-3, β-catenin, MMP-9, and cyclin D1/2, and increased the levels of p21CIP1/WAF1 and p27Kip1. In vitro, RhoA knockdown also led to inhibition of cell migration, invasion, and proliferation. Our data suggest that RhoA plays a significant role in TSCC progression by regulating cell migration and invasion through Wnt/β-catenin signaling pathway and cell proliferation through cell cycle regulation, respectively. RhoA might be a novel therapeutic target of TSCC.

No abstract