Int J Med Sci
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The mechanisms of immune privilege in human nucleus pulposus (NP) remain unclear. Accumulating evidence indicates that Fas ligand (FasL) might play an important role in the immune privilege of the disc. We aimed for addressing the role of FasL expression in human intervertebral disc degeneration (IDD) and immune privilege in terms of the interaction between NP cells and immunocytes via the FasL-Fas machinery. ⋯ We found that FasL expression in mRNA, protein and cellular resolutions demonstrated a significant decrease in degenerative group compared with normal control (p<0.05). FCM analysis found that human NP cells with increased FasL expression resulted in significantly increased apoptosis ratio of macrophages and CD8(+) T cells. Our study demonstrated that FasL expression tends to decrease in degenerated discs and FasL plays an important role in human disc immune privilege, which might provide a novel target for the treatment strategies for IDD.
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The highly organized DNA architecture inside of the nuclei of cells is accepted in the scientific world. In the human genome about 3 billion nucleotides are organized as chromatin in the cell nucleus. In general, they are involved in gene regulation and transcription by histone modification. ⋯ The extent of DNA damage was strongly dependent on its localization inside of nuclei. The ROS activity allowed to gain information about the location of genes and their functions via sequencing and data base analysis of the double strand breaks of the isolated DNA. A connection between the damaged gene sequences and some diseases was found.
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Oral rinses are widely used to promote periodontal health with provisional restorations during the interim period. The aim of this study was to compare the discoloration of provisional restoration materials with different oral rinses. ⋯ The type of the oral rinse did not affect the discoloration process. For long-term esthetic results, choosing MMA-based materials for provisional restorations appears to be more effective.
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Bacterial vaginosis (BV) is the most common vaginal disorder in women of child-bearing age. It is widely accepted that the microbial switch from normal microflora to the flora commonly associated with BV is characterized by a decrease in vaginal colonization by specific Lactobacillus species together with an increase of G. vaginalis and other anaerobes. However, the order of events leading to the development of BV remains poorly characterized and it is unclear whether the decrease in lactobacilli is a cause or a consequence of the increase in the population density of anaerobes. ⋯ Interestingly, strain 101 displaced L. crispatus but not L. iners whereas strain 5-1 had less of an effect and did not affect the two species differently. Furthermore, L. iners actually enhanced adhesion of strain 101 but not of strain 5-1. These results suggest that BV-causing G. vaginalis and L. iners do not interfere with one another, which may help to explain previous reports that women who are colonized with L. iners are more likely to develop BV.
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CYP2C19 is a cytochrome P450 enzyme, which is involved in the metabolism of some clinically important medications and is encoded by a highly polymorphic gene. There is no available data on the distribution of the CYP2C19 *4 and *17 mutant alleles in the Saudi Arabian population. The aim of the study was to determine different CYP2C19 mutant allele (*2, *4 and *17) frequencies in healthy Saudi subjects and to determine genotype frequencies for these mutations. The CYP2C19 genotypes were then classified into phenotypes. ⋯ In 201 adults of Saudi ethnicity, the allele frequencies were CYP2C19*1 (62.9%), *17 (25.7%), *2 (11.2%) and *4 (0.2%). The most prevalent genotype combinations were CYP2C19 *1/*1 (40.3%) and *1/*17 (30.4%). The distribution of CYP2C19 phenotypes was divided into extensive metabolizers (EM) 77.6%, intermediate metabolizers (IM) 14.9%, ultra-rapid metabolizers (UM) 7% and poor metabolizers (PM) 0.4%. This finding has important clinical implications for the use of CYP2C19 metabolized medications in the Saudi population and further studies are needed.