The Association of Gum Bleeding with Respiratory Health in a Population Based Study from Northern Europe

Background

There is little knowledge about how oral and respiratory health is interrelated even though the mucosa of the oral cavity and airways constitutes a continuum and the exposures to these are partly similar.

Aims

To investigate whether gum bleeding is related to asthma, respiratory symptoms and self-reported COPD.

Methods

A postal questionnaire including questions about respiratory and oral health was sent to general population samples in seven Northern European centres. In 13,409 responders, gum bleeding when brushing teeth was reported always/often by 4% and sometimes by 20%. Logistic regressions accounted for age, smoking, educational level, centre and gender. Effects of BMI, cardio-metabolic diseases, early life factors, gastro-oesophageal reflux, dental hygiene, nasal congestion, and asthma medication were addressed.

Results

Gum bleeding always/often was significantly associated with ≥3 asthma symptoms (OR 2.58, 95% CI 2.10–3.18), asthma (1.62 [1.23–2.14]) and self-reported COPD (2.02 [1.28–3.18]). There was a dose-response relationship between respiratory outcomes and gum bleeding frequency (≥3 symptoms: gum bleeding sometimes 1.42 [1.25–1.60], often/always 2.58 [2.10–3.18]), and there was no heterogeneity between centres (p_{heterogeneity} = 0.49). None of the investigated risk factors explained the associations. The observed associations were significantly stronger among current smokers (p_interaction = 0.004).

Conclusions

A consistent link between gum bleeding and obstructive airways disease was observed, not explained by common risk factors or metabolic factors. We speculate that oral pathogens might have unfavourable impact on the airways, and that the direct continuity of the mucosa of the oral cavity and the airways reflects a pathway that might provide novel opportunities for interventions.     

A life cycle assessment of Agaricus bisporus mushroom production in the USA

The International Journal of Life Cycle Assessment - Stakeholders across the food product supply chain are increasingly interested in understanding the environmental effects of food production....     

Neuropilin-1 binds to VEGF121 and regulates endothelial cell migration and sprouting

Neuropilin-1 (NRP1) was first described as a receptor for the axon guidance molecule, Semaphorin3A, regulating the development of the nervous system. It was later shown that NRP1 is an isoform-specific receptor for vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), specifically VEGF(165). Much interest has been placed on the role of the various VEGF isoforms in vascular biology. Here we report that blocking NRP1 function, using a recently described antibody that inhibits VEGF(165) binding to NRP1, surprisingly reduces VEGF(121)-induced migration and sprout formation of endothelial cells. Intrigued by this observation, direct binding studies of NRP1 to various VEGF isoforms were performed. We show that VEGF(121) binds directly to NRP1; however, unlike VEGF(165), VEGF(121) is not sufficient to bridge the NRP1.VEGFR2 complex. Additionally, we show that VEGFR2 enhances VEGF(165), but not VEGF(121) binding to NRP1. We propose a new model for NRP1 interactions with various VEGF isoforms.     

SdrF, a Staphylococcus epidermidis surface protein, binds type I collagen

Staphylococcus epidermidis is the leading cause of device-related infections. These infections require an initial colonization step in which S. epidermidis adheres to the implanted material. This process is usually mediated by specific bacterial surface proteins and host factors coating the foreign device. Some of these surface proteins belong to the serine-aspartate repeat (Sdr) family, which includes adhesins from Staphyloccus aureus and S. epidermidis. Using a heterologous expression system in Lactococcus lactis to overcome possible staphylococcal adherence redundancy we observed that one of these Sdr proteins, SdrF, mediates binding to type I collagen when present on the lactococcal cell surface. We used lactococcal recombinant strains, a protein-protein interaction assay and Western ligand blot analysis to demonstrate that this process occurs via the B domain of SdrF and both the alpha1 and alpha2 chains of type I collagen. It was also found that a single B domain repeat of S. epidermidis 9491 retains the capacity to bind to type I collagen. We demonstrated that the putative ligand binding N-terminal A domain does not bind to collagen which suggests that SdrF might be a multiligand adhesin. Antibodies directed against the B domain significantly reduce in vitro adherence of S. epidermidis to immobilized collagen.     

A HPLC-mass spectrometric method suitable for the therapeutic drug monitoring of everolimus

We report here the validation of an HPLC-electrospray-tandem mass spectrometry method for the quantification of everolimus, an immunosuppressant drug. Whole blood samples (100 microl) were extracted by protein precipitation which involved sample pre-treatment with zinc sulphate followed by acetonitrile (containing internal standard, 40-O-(3'-hydroxy)propyl-rapamycin). HPLC was performed using a step-gradient at a flow rate of 0.6 ml/min on a Waters TDM C18 column (10 mm x 2.1mm I.D.) with a resultant chromatographic analysis time of 2 min. Mass spectrometric detection by selected reaction monitoring (everolimus m/z 975.5-->908.3; internal standard m/z 989.5-->922.3). The assay was linear from 0.5 to 40 microg/l (r2>0.994, n=11). The inter- and intra-day analytical recovery and imprecision for quality control samples (1.25, 12.5 and 30 microg/l) were 93.4-98.2% and <10.7%, respectively (n=10). At the lower limit of quantification (0.5 microg/l) the inter- and intra-day analytical recovery was 94.4-95.8% with imprecision of <14.1% (n=10). The absolute recovery of everolimus (6.5 microg/l) and internal standard (12.5 microg/l) was 96.5 and 88.3%, respectively (n=3). A comparison of our method against the mean of all HPLC methods for a series of samples from an external proficiency testing scheme revealed good correlation as shown by the regression analysis: y=0.973x+0.301 (r2=0.986, n=71). In conclusion, the method described is suited to the current requirements for therapeutic drug monitoring of everolimus.     

Control of Brevicoryne brassicae (Hemiptera: Aphididae) with extracts of Agave americana var. Marginata Trel. in Brassica oleracea crops

Alternative methods of pest control can and should be encouraged, especially those that consider the reality of smallholder family farmers. Here, we evaluated the potential of Agave americana (agave) extracts for the control of the aphid Brevicoryne brassicae in cabbage (Brassica oleracea L. var acephala) in the field and laboratory. The field experiments consisted of the evaluation of the proportion of dead aphids on cabbage plants after application of agave extracts. In the field, agave mixed with cow milk caused mortality above 80% and was the most effective extract. Agave mixed with water and agave mixed with ethanol elicited mortality above 60%. In the laboratory, we evaluated the mortality of aphids after the application of different concentrations of aqueous agave extracts; the commercial insecticide deltamethrin was included as positive control. Evaluation took place at 3, 6, 12, 24, 48 and 72 hr after applying the treatment. As expected, deltamethrin was the most effective treatment. However, agave extract at concentrations of 0.750 and 0.500 g/mL caused >70% mortality 3 hr after application. We conclude that A. americana extracts decreased aphid populations and is a promising alternative to the commercial insecticide against aphids in cabbage.     

The use of antisense oligonucleotides as chemotherapeutic agents for parasites

Although several approaches to the control of human parasites are possible, the prevention and therapy of the corresponding diseases still remain a difficult task. The development of vaccines has been hampered by the poor immunological response to or the high variability of parasitic antigens. Problems also arise for chemotherapy where differences in the biochemistry of host and parasite must be exploited. The increasingly difficult search for new drugs is always challenged by the appearance of resistance.