J Formos Med Assoc
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TGF-β1 is an important growth factor that may influence the odontoblast differentiation and matrix deposition in the reactionary/reparative dentinogenesis to dental caries or other tooth injuries. TGF-β1 exerts its effects through various signaling pathways, such as Smads and MAPKs. Cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) is a membrane-associated enzyme that produces prostaglandin E2 (PGE2) at sites of pulpal injury and inflammation, which leads to tissue swelling, redness and pain. The purposes of this study were to investigate the differential signal transduction pathways of TGF-β1 that mediate COX-2 stimulation and PGE2 production in dental pulp cells. ⋯ TGF-β1 increased the COX-2 and PGE2 level of cultured pulp cells. The effect of TGF-β1 on COX-2 protein expression was associated with ALK5/Smad2/3 and MEK/ERK pathways. These events are important in the early inflammation, repair and regeneration of dental pulp in response to injury.
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Langerhans cells (LCs) are antigen-presenting cells. This study assessed the LC counts in odontogenic keratocysts (OKCs). ⋯ A significant association of inflammation grade with the number of LCs in OKCs is found. The paucity of finding LCs in the lining epithelia of OKCs without inflammation indicates the loss of immunosurveillance ability against the OKC lining epithelial cells; this can explain why OKCs have aggressive clinical behavior, a great growth potential, and a high recurrence rate.
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Occult hepatitis B infection (OHB) is not rare in countries that are endemic for hepatitis B virus (HBV) and in patients with chronic hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection. Notably, OHB has been shown to play a role in the progression of liver diseases, including the development of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC); however, the data is inconsistent. We aim to clarify the contribution of concurrent OHB to the progression of liver diseases in a long-term cohort of patients with HCV infection and to investigate the value of total anti-hepatitis B core (anti-HBc) antibody as a surrogate OHB biomarker. ⋯ OHB infection may not contribute to the development of adverse liver outcomes in patients with chronic HCV.
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Microcytosis is defined as mean corpuscular volume (MCV) < 80 fL. This study assessed the anemia statuses and hematinic deficiencies in 30 patients with gastric parietal cell antibody-positive microcytosis (GPCA+/microcytosis) and 210 patients with GPCA-negative microcytosis (GPCA-/microcytosis). ⋯ We conclude that GPCA in microcytosis patients' sera may have caused significantly lower mean vitamin B12 level as well as significantly higher mean RDW and serum homocysteine level in our GPCA+/microcytosis patients than in GPCA-/microcytosis patients. Herein, iron deficiency anemia was the most common type of anemia in anemic GPCA+/microcytosis and GPCA-/microcytosis patients.