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Aim: The link between periodontitis and intestinal dysbiosis, two factors that contribute to atherosclerosis, has not been clearly defined. We investigated the integrative effects of oral infection with Porphyromonas gingivalis (PG), the major pathogen for periodontitis, on intestinal microbiota and atherosclerosis. Materials and Methods: ApoE−/− mice were fed a normal chow diet (NC), a Western diet (WD) or a WD with oral PG infection (PG). The PG infection was investigated by placing a total of 109 CFUs of live PG into the oral cavity of each mouse using a feeding needle five times a week for 3 weeks. Atherosclerotic lesions of the aortae were measured, and blood lipoproteins and the expression of molecules related to lipid metabolism in the liver were analysed. We also performed 16S RNA sequencing and a microbiome analysis using faeces. Results: En face bloc preparation of the aortae showed that the PG group had a 1.7‐fold increase in atherosclerotic lesions compared with the WD group (p <.01). Serum analyses showed that oral PG infection induced a significant decrease in high‐density lipoprotein (HDL) and triglyceride. Western blots of hepatic tissue lysates revealed that PG infection reduced the expression of scavenger receptor class B type 1 (SR‐B1) in the liver by 50%. Faecal microbiota analysis revealed that species richness estimates (Chao1, ACE) decreased immediately after PG infection. PG infection also induced a significant decrease in Shannon diversity and an increase in Simpson's indices in the WD‐fed mice. PG infection significantly increased the phyla Actinobacteria and Deferribacteres, along with the species Mucispirillum schaedleri and Lactobacillus gasseri, in the mice. The functional study showed that PG infection increased the expression of proteins that function in carbohydrate and glucose metabolism, including phosphotransferase system (PTS) proteins and the GntR family transcriptional regulator. Conclusions: Oral PG infection promotes atherosclerosis and induces significant metabolic changes, including reduced serum HDL and reduced hepatic SR‐B1 and ABCA1 expression, as well as changes in intestinal microbiota. Our study suggests that intestinal dysbiosis accompanies periodontitis and could play a role in atherosclerosis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Deficiency in DNA damage response (DDR) pathway and accumulation of DNA damage increases mutation rates resulting in genomic instability and eventually increases the risk of cancer. The aim of our study was to investigate expressions of DNA repair genes as new prognostic biomarkers in acute myeloid leukemia (AML). We utilized The Cancer Genome Atlas AML project (TCGA-LAML cohort, 15 acute promyelocytic leukemia (APL) and 155 non-APL AML) for the expression data of DNA repair genes. For validation, clinical samples (Ewha study group, 9 APL and 72 non-APL AML patients) were analyzed for the expression of 22 DNA repair genes using a custom RT2 Profiler PCR Array. APL patients presented significantly lower expression of DNA repair genes than non-APL AML patients in both study groups. Among non-APL AML patients, high expression levels of PARP1, XRCC1, and RAD51 were associated with poor overall survival (OS) probability in both study groups. Furthermore, Cox regression analysis showed that increased expression levels of PARP1, XRCC1, RAD51, BRCA1 and MRE11A could be independent risk factors for OS in the Ewha study group. Among non-APL patients of the Ewha study group, the OS probability of DDR-overexpressed group with at least one gene or more showing Z score greater than 1.5 was poorer than that of DDR non-overexpressed group. In the current study, the DNA repair gene expression profile of APL patients was different from that of non-APL AML patients. Overexpression of DNA repair genes could be a poor prognostic biomarker in non-APL AML. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Complex oil of Zanthoxylum schinifolium and Perilla frutescens seed (ZPCO) is used as a traditional medicine due to its pharmacological activities. The aim of this study was to investigate the immunostimulatory effect of ZPCO in isolated splenocytes as well as in an immunosuppressed rat model, which was generated via oral administration of cyclophosphamide. Notably, our results showed that ZPCO exerted an immunity-enhancing effect both in vitro and in vivo. Specifically, ZPCO treatment enhanced the viability and inflammatory cytokine production of splenocytes and NK cell activity in vitro. Moreover, this product improved host defense under immunosuppressive conditions by increasing the number of immune cells and promoting the expression of cytokines involved in immune responses. Our results suggest that complex oil including Z. schinifolium should be explored as a novel immunostimulatory agent that could potentially be used for therapeutic purposes or as an ingredient in functional foods. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background aims. Although mesenchymal stromal cells (MSC) from human palatine tonsils (tonsillar MSC, T-MSC) have been isolated, whether T-MSC isolated from multiple donors are feasible for cell banking has not been studied. Methods. T-MSC before and after a standard protocol of cryopreservation and thawing were assessed regarding several basic characteristics, including colony-forming unit-fibroblast features, MSC-specific surface antigen profiles, and inhibition of alloreactive T-cell proliferation. In vitro mesodermal differentiation potentials to adipocytes, osteocytes and chondrocytes were detected by staining with either cell-specific dyes or antibody after incubation with each appropriate differentiation medium. Expression of mesoderm-specific genes was also quantified by real-time polymerase chain reaction (PCR) assay. Expression profiles of endoderm-specific genes were identified by reverse transcription PCR assay. The feasibility of T-MSC in future engraftment was tested by short tandem repeat (STR) analysis using genomic DNA isolated randomly from three independent subjects. Results. Both fresh and cryopreserved-thawed T-MSC showed a similar high proliferation capacity and expressed primitive cell-surface markers. Hematopoietic cell markers, HLA-DR, co-stimulatory molecules and follicular dendritic cell markers were not detected. In addition to mesodermal differentiation, fresh and cryopreserved-thawed cells also underwent endodermal differentiation, as evidenced by the expression of endoderm-specific genes including forkhead box A2 (FoxA2), SIX homeobox 1 (Six1) and chemokine (C-C motif) ligand 21 (CCL21). Both cells significantly decreased phorbol 12- myristate 13-acetate (PMA)-induced T-cell proliferation. T-MSC from three independent donors formed chimerism in STR analysis. Conclusions. Our results demonstrate for the first time that T-MSC are a potentially good source for MSC banking. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To achieve the liver-directed expression in sufficient amounts of therapeutic genes for successful and safe gene therapy, natural liver-specific promoters can be used to direct the expression of therapeutic genes in the liver, whereas strong viral enhancers were used to obtain sufficient amounts of expressed therapeutic gene products. However, very often use of either the former or the latter does not guarantee both potent and liver-specific therapeutic gene expression. Here we conglomerate them and thus create a potent tissue-specific promoter by characterizing and using the liver-type pyruvate kinase proximal promoter (LPKPP) harboring its TATA box and a HNF-1α binding site. Alone it hardly activated its reporter gene expression in non-hepatocytes or hepatocytes. However, in the presence of the SV40 viral enhancer (SV40VE), which is active in multiple cell types, it was able to potently activate its reporter gene expression specifically in hepatocytes. The tissue-specific activation of the LPKPP by the viral enhancer was attributed to HNF-1α binding to the LPKPP. Taken together, these results support the idea that the constitutively active SV40VE could be used to activate the LPKPP in a tissue-specific manner in the presence of HNF-1α. To our knowledge, this is the first study to utilize HNF-1α and its binding site, in the context of the LPKPP, to generate a basal promoter that is transcriptionally activated potently in a tissue-specific manner by a viral enhancer that is active in multiple cell types. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]