A newly-developed metal artifact reduction algorithm improves the visibility of oral cavity lesions on 320-MDCT volume scans

PurposeTo investigate whether a newly-developed single-energy metal artifact reduction (SEMAR) algorithm applied to images acquired on a 320-MDCT volume scanner reduces image artifacts from dental metal.MethodsWe inserted the lower right teeth covered with a dental metal alloy and crown in a skull phantom and performed single-volume scanning on a second-generation 320-MDCT scanner. A 12-mm diameter spherical lesion was placed either close to or far from the dental metal. The tube voltage and current were 120 kVp and 80 or 155 mA, respectively. Images were reconstructed with filtered back projection (FBP) or iterative reconstruction (IR), with or without SEMAR. We calculated the signal-to-artifact ratios (SAR) to quantify the visibility of the lesion. Two radiologists inspected 96 images (48 with lesion and 48 without) for the presence or absence of the lesion using a 5-point ordinal scale (1 = definitely absent to 5 = definitely present).ResultsOn images reconstructed with FPB and IR with SEMAR, streak artifacts from the dental metal were reduced substantially compared to images without SEMAR. At 155 mA with the lesion near the dental metal, the SARs were better on FBP and IR images (FBP: 1.7 and 0.5 with and without SEMAR, respectively; IR: 1.6 and 0.9 with and without SEMAR, respectively). The observer visual scores improved with SEMAR (FBP: 4.2 and 3.2 with and without SEMAR, respectively; IR: 4.2 and 3.0).ConclusionThe SEMAR algorithm reduces dental metal artifacts and improves lesion detectability and image quality in patients with oral cavity lesions.     

Green tea (-)-epigallocatechin-3-gallate inhibits HGF-induced progression in oral cavity cancer through suppression of HGF/c-Met

Hepatocyte growth factor (HGF) and c-Met have recently attracted a great deal of attention as prognostic indicators of patient outcome, and they are important in the control of tumor growth and invasion. Epigallocatechin-3-gallate (EGCG) has been shown to modulate multiple signal pathways in a manner that controls the unwanted proliferation and invasion of cells, thereby imparting cancer chemopreventive and therapeutic effects. In this study, we investigated the effects of EGCG in inhibiting HGF-induced tumor growth and invasion of oral cancer in vitro and in vivo. We examined the effects of EGCG on HGF-induced cell proliferation, migration, invasion, induction of apoptosis and modulation of HGF/c-Met signaling pathway in the KB oral cancer cell line. We investigated the antitumor effect and inhibition of c-Met expression by EGCG in a syngeneic mouse model (C3H/HeJ mice, SCC VII/SF cell line). HGF promoted cell proliferation, migration, invasion and induction of MMP (matrix metalloproteinase)-2 and MMP-9 in KB cells. EGCG significantly inhibited HGF-induced phosphorylation of Met and cell growth, invasion and expression of MMP-2 and MMP-9. EGCG blocked HGF-induced phosphorylation of c-Met and that of the downstream kinases AKT and ERK, and inhibition of p-AKT and p-ERK by EGCG was associated with marked increases in the phosphorylation of p38, JNK, cleaved caspase-3 and poly-ADP-ribose polymerase. In C3H/HeJ syngeneic mice, as an in vivo model, tumor growth was suppressed and apoptosis was increased by EGCG. Our results suggest that EGCG may be a potential therapeutic agent to inhibit HGF-induced tumor growth and invasion in oral cancer.     

Antiviral activity in vitro of two preparations of the herbal medicinal product Sinupret? against viruses causing respiratory infections

Sinupret(?), a herbal medicinal product made from Gentian root, Primula flower, Elder flower, Sorrel herb, and Verbena herb is frequently used in the treatment of acute and chronic rhinosinusitis and respiratory viral infections such as common cold. To date little is known about its potential antiviral activity. Therefore experiments have been performed to measure the antiviral activity of Sinupret(?) oral drops (hereinafter referred to as "oral drops") and Sinupret(?) dry extract (hereinafter referred to as "dry extract"), in vitro against a broad panel of both enveloped and non-enveloped human pathogenic RNA and DNA viruses known to cause infections of the upper respiratory tract: influenza A, Chile 1/83 (H1N1) virus (FluA), Porcine Influenza A/California/07/2009 (H1N1) virus (pFluA), parainfluenza type 3 virus (Para 3), respiratory syncytial virus, strain Long (RSV), human rhinovirus B subtype 14 (HRV 14), coxsackievirus subtype A9 (CA9), and adenovirus C subtype 5 (Adeno 5). Concentration-dependent antiviral activity (EC(50) between 13.8 and 124.8 μg/ml) of Sinupret(?) was observed against RNA as well as DNA viruses independent of a viral envelope. Remarkable antiviral activity was shown against Adeno 5, HRV 14 and RSV in which dry extract was significantly superior to oral drops. This could be ascertained with different assays as plaque-reduction assays in plaque forming units (PFU), the analyses of a cytopathogenic effect (CPE) and with enzyme immunoassays (ELISA) to determine the amount of newly synthesised virus. Our results demonstrate that Sinupret(?) shows a broad spectrum of antiviral activity in vitro against viruses commonly known to cause respiratory infections.     

Discovery of selective and orally available spiro-3-piperidyl ATP-competitive MK2 inhibitors

The identification of a potent, selective, and orally available MK2 inhibitor series is described. The initial absence of oral bioavailability was successfully tackled by moving the basic nitrogen of the spiro-4-piperidyl moiety towards the electron-deficient pyrrolepyridinedione core, thereby reducing the pK_a and improving Caco-2 permeability. The resulting racemic spiro-3-piperidyl analogues were separated by chiral preparative HPLC, and the activity towards MK2 inhibition was shown to reside mostly in the first eluting stereoisomer. This led to the identification of new MK2 inhibitors, such as (S)-23, with low nanomolar biochemical inhibition (EC₅₀ 7.4 nM) and submicromolar cellular target engagement activity (EC₅₀ 0.5 μM).     

Discovery, synthesis and SAR of azinyl- and azolylbenzamides antagonists of the P2X₇ receptor

The discovery, of a series of 2-Cl-5-heteroaryl-benzamide antagonists of the P2X(7) receptor via parallel medicinal chemistry is described. Initial analogs suffered from poor metabolic stability and low Vd(ss). Multi parametric optimization led to identification of pyrazole 39 as a viable lead with excellent potency and oral bioavailability. Further attempts to improve the low Vd(ss) of 39 via introduction of amines led to analogs 40 and 41 which maintained the favorable pharmacology profile of 39 and improved Vd(ss) after iv dosing. But these analogs suffered from poor oral absorption, probably driven by poor permeability.     

Novel second generation analogs of eribulin. Part I: Compounds containing a lipophilic C32 side chain overcome P-glycoprotein susceptibility

Eribulin mesylate (Halaven™), a totally synthetic analog of the marine polyether macrolide halichondrin B, has recently been approved in the United States as a treatment for breast cancer. It is also currently under regulatory review in Japan and the European Union. Our continuing medicinal chemistry efforts on this scaffold have focused on oral bioavailability, brain penetration and efficacy against multidrug resistant (MDR) tumors by lowering the susceptibility of these compounds to P-glycoprotein (P-gp)-mediated drug efflux. Replacement of the 1,2-amino alcohol C32 side chain of eribulin with fragments neutral at physiologic pH led to the identification of analogs with significantly lower P-gp susceptibility. The analogs maintained low- to sub-nM potency in vitro against both sensitive and MDR cell lines. Within this series, increasing lipophilicity generally led to decreased P-gp susceptibility. In addition to potency in cell culture, these compounds showed in vivo activity in mouse xenograft models.     

Twenty-first century vaccines

In the twentieth century, vaccination has been possibly the greatest revolution in health. Together with hygiene and antibiotics, vaccination led to the elimination of many childhood infectious diseases and contributed to the increase in disability-free life expectancy that in Western societies rose from 50 to 78-85 years (Crimmins, E. M. & Finch, C. E. 2006 Proc. Natl Acad. Sci. USA 103, 498-503; Kirkwood, T. B. 2008 Nat. Med 10, 1177-1185). In the twenty-first century, vaccination will be expected to eliminate the remaining childhood infectious diseases, such as meningococcal meningitis, respiratory syncytial virus, group A streptococcus, and will address the health challenges of this century such as those associated with ageing, antibiotic resistance, emerging infectious diseases and poverty. However, for this to happen, we need to increase the public trust in vaccination so that vaccines can be perceived as the best insurance against most diseases across all ages.     

口源性口臭指示菌的筛选

目的从口源性口臭(Oral Malodor)相关菌种中筛选主要代表菌,用以建立口臭细菌学(Oral Bacteri-ology)临床辅助诊断的指示菌(Indicator bacteria)。方法用感官检测(鼻闻法)(Organoleptic test)、气相色谱(Gas Chromatography)、硫化物检测仪(Halimeter)和硫化氢检测仪(Easicult S)等4种方法,在实验室检测常见的8种牙周及龋病致病菌,通过检测鼻闻臭味程度、硫化物(Volatile sulfur compounds,VSCs)、硫化氢(Hydrogen sulfide,H2S)及有异味的短链脂肪酸(Short Chain Fatlf acid)含量来确定指示菌。结果鼻闻:牙龈卟啉单胞菌(P.gingivalis,P.g)、中间普雷沃菌(P.intermedius,P.i)和具核梭杆菌具核梭亚种(F.subsp nucleatum,F.n)恶臭明显,其他菌有微臭或无味。气相色谱检测:P.g、P.i、F.n和伴放线聚生杆菌(Aggregatibscter actinomycetemcomitans,A.a)中有异味的丁酸(Butyric acid)含量在40%～66%,其他菌,其他产物含量较低。硫化物检测:P.g、P.i和F.n的VSCs量在1 000ppb以上,硫化氢检测:P.g、P.i和F.n的H2S在600 ppb以上,其他菌两项检测均在36 ppb以下。结论 P.g、P.i和F,n是主要产臭菌种,可作为临床口臭的细菌学辅助诊断的指示菌,供临床进一步研究。     

Teleost intestinal immunology

Teleosts clearly have a more diffuse gut associated lymphoid system, which is morphological and functional clearly different from the mammalian GALT. All immune cells necessary for a local immune response are abundantly present in the gut mucosa of the species studied and local immune responses can be monitored after intestinal immunization. Fish do not produce IgA, but a special mucosal IgM isotype seems to be secreted and may (partly) be the recently described IgZ/IgT. Fish produce a pIgR in their mucosal tissues but it is smaller (2 ILD) than the 4–5 ILD pIgR of higher vertebrates. Whether teleost pIgR is transcytosed and cleaved off in the same way needs further investigation, especially because a secretory component (SC) is only reported in one species. Teleosts also have high numbers of IEL, most of them are CD3-?⁺/CD8-α⁺ and have cytotoxic and/or regulatory function. Possibly many of these cells are TCRγδ cells and they may be involved in the oral tolerance induction observed in fish. Innate immune cells can be observed in the teleost gut from first feeding onwards, but B cells appear much later in mucosal compartments compared to systemic sites. Conspicuous is the very early presence of putative T cells or their precursors in the fish gut, which together with the rag-1 expression of intestinal lymphoid cells may be an indication for an extra-thymic development of certain T cells. Teleosts can develop enteritis in their antigen transporting second gut segment and epithelial cells, IEL and eosinophils/basophils seem to play a crucial role in this intestinal inflammation model. Teleost intestine can be exploited for oral vaccination strategies and probiotic immune stimulation. A variety of encapsulation methods, to protect vaccines against degradation in the foregut, are reported with promising results but in most cases they appear not to be cost effective yet. Microbiota in fish are clearly different from terrestrial animals. In the past decade a fast increasing number of papers is dedicated to the oral administration of a variety of probiotics that can have a strong health beneficial effect, but much more attention has to be paid to the immune mechanisms behind these effects. The recent development of gnotobiotic fish models may be very helpful to study the immune effects of microbiota and probiotics in teleosts.     

骨形成蛋白Ⅱ型突变受体基因转染对口腔鳞癌细胞增殖和凋亡的影响

目的探讨骨形成蛋白（BMPs）与口腔鳞癌的发生、发展的可能关系。方法将含有BMP-Ⅱ突变受体的真核表达载体转染入Tea8113舌癌细胞,筛选和鉴定后,构建稳定表达BMP-Ⅱ突变受体的细胞株tBRⅡ-Tea8113。对tBRⅡ—Tca8113细胞和Tca8113细胞分别进行MTT检测,流式细胞仪（FCM）分析、BrdU标记检测细胞的增殖活性及DNA合成;检测tBRⅡ-Tca8113细胞和Tea8113细胞的凋亡及细胞周期相关因子（CyclinD1,CDK-4,p27,p57）的表达。结果Tea8113细胞和tBRⅡ-Tea8113细胞的增殖指数MTT检测为0．47±0．01和0．35±0．008（t=22．953,P=0．000）,BrdU检测为12．0±3．4和23．0±1．9（f=6．918,P=0．000）,FCM检测为6.3和7．9;两组的凋亡指数为3．7±1．2和8．7±1．6（t=29．583,P=0．000）;细胞周期因子在Tca8113和tBRⅡ-ca8113细胞中的平均灰度测量值为CyclinD1（186．5±2．4和145．6±3．9,t=28．244,P=0．000）,CDK4（169．9±2．9和129．5±3．2,t=29．583,P=0．000）,p27（110．1±1．1和167．34-1．8,f=85．754,P=0．000）,p57（107．9±2．1和156．8±2．2,t=50．844,P=0．000）。结论BMPs及其受体可能在口腔上皮组织的恶变过程中有重要作用,研究结果为探讨BMPs信号在上皮性肿瘤中的作用提供了重要依据。tBRⅡ-Tea8113细胞的建立,进一步表明了BMPs及其受体在口腔上皮组织的恶变过程中有重要作用,并为进一步探讨BMP信号在上皮性肿瘤的恶变过程中的作用奠定了基础。