No abstract

AGEs increase IL-6 and ICAM-1 expression via the RAGE, MAPK and NF-κB pathways in HGFs and may exacerbate the progression of the pathogenesis of periodontal diseases.

We show, for the first time, the presence of resistin in gingival crevicular fluid. A high resistin level in gingival crevicular fluid samples from periodontitis patients may to some extent be related to P-LPS-induced resistin release from neutrophils.

No abstract

In the oral cavity, mucosal keratinocytes resist bacterial infection, in part, by producing broad-spectrum antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) including defensin, adrenomedullin and calprotectin. Epidermal keratinocyte expression of many AMPs increases in response to interleukin-1α (IL-1α). IL-1α is produced by epidermal keratinocytes and regulates cell differentiation. To better understand innate immunity in the oral cavity, we sought to determine how IL-1α might regulate expression of AMPs by human gingival keratinocytes (HGKs) using DNA microarray and western blot analyses. HGKs from three subjects expressed eleven AMPs, including S100A7, S100A8, S100A9, S100A12, secretory leukocyte protease inhibitor, lipocalin 2 (LCN2), cystatin C and β-defensin 2. Of the expressed AMPs, S100A7, S100A12 and LCN2 were up-regulated by IL-1α (inducible AMPs); the other AMPs were considered to be constitutive. Human gingival keratinocytes, therefore, express constitutive and IL-1α-inducible AMPs to provide a rapid and robust innate response to microbial infection.

No abstract

Genetic variants at multiple loci have been shown to be associated with susceptibility to periodontitis. To better assess the genetic risk factors for periodontitis, we performed a case-control study in 319 Japanese individuals with periodontitis (172 aggressive and 147 chronic disease) and 303 race-matched healthy control individuals. Thirty-five functional gene polymorphisms that had been previously associated with immune responses were genotyped. For all gene polymorphisms tested, no significant differences were observed in the allele frequencies of persons with aggressive, chronic, and combined (aggressive and chronic) periodontitis, compared with control individuals. Multiple logistic regression analysis revealed a significant association of the vitamin D receptor +1056 T/C polymorphism with susceptibility to chronic periodontitis, after adjustment for age, gender, and smoking status (P = 0.002). These results suggest that none of the polymorphisms tested was strongly associated with periodontitis in a Japanese population. However, the vitamin D receptor +1056 polymorphism may be related to chronic periodontitis.

Background Nivolumab has promising efficacy for the treatment of non‐small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). Various predictive factors for nivolumab response in those with NSCLC have been reported, including performance status (PS). The objective of this retrospective study was to determine the predictive factors for nivolumab response in those with NSCLC with good PS and those with poor PS. Methods We retrospectively collected pretreatment clinical data of 296 consecutive patients with NSCLC treated with nivolumab. We investigated the relationship between progression‐free survival (PFS) and patient characteristics and analyzed predictive factors associated with good PS (PS 0‐1) or poor PS (PS 2‐4). Results The median age of patients was 70 years; 206 patients were male, and 224 were classified as having good PS (PS 0‐1). The median PFS was 3.0 months, 3.7 months, and 1.2 months for all patients, patients with good PS, and patients with poor PS respectively. Multivariate analysis showed that never smoking (hazard ratio [HR], 1.77; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.15‐2.75), high C‐reactive protein (CRP) (HR, 1.39; 95% CI, 1.00‐1.93), liver metastasis (HR, 1.95; 95% CI, 1.24‐3.07), pleural effusion (HR, 1.45; 95% CI, 1.06‐2.00), and steroid use (HR, 2.85; 95% CI, 1.65‐4.94) were associated with significantly shorter PFS in patients with good PS. A high advanced lung cancer inflammation index (ALI) was significantly associated with longer PFS in patients with poor PS (HR, 0.24; 95% CI, 0.08‐0.79). Conclusions In patients with NSCLC treated with nivolumab, the factors found to be predictive of shorter PFS in patients with good PS were never smoking, high CRP, liver metastasis, pleural effusion, and steroid administration, whereas high ALI was predictive of longer PFS in patients with poor PS.