The highly conserved antigen I/II family of polypeptides produced by oral streptococci are believed to be colonization determinants and may mediate adhesion of bacterial cells to salivary glycoproteins absorbed to cells and tissues in the human oral cavity. Streptococcus gordonii is shown to express, on the cell surface, two antigen I/II polypeptides designated SspA and SspB (formerly Ssp-5) that are the products of tandemly arranged chromosomal genes. The structure and arrangement of these genes is similar in two independently isolated strains, DL1 and M5, of S. gordonii. The mature polypeptide sequences of M5 SspA (1539 amino acid (aa) residues) and SspB (1462 aa residues) are almost wholly conserved (98% identical) in the C-terminal regions (from residues 796 in SspA and 719 in SspB, to the respective C-termini), well-conserved (84%) at the N-terminal regions (residues 1-429), and divergent (only 27% identical residues) within the intervening central regions. Insertional inactivation of the sspA gene in S. gordonii DL1 resulted in reduced binding of cells to salivary agglutinin glycoprotein (SAG), human erythrocytes, and to the oral bacterium Actinomyces naeslundii. Further reductions in streptococcal cell adhesion to SAG and to two strains of A. naeslundii were observed when both sspA and sspB genes were inactivated. The results suggest that both SspA and SspB polypeptides are involved in adhesion of S. gordonii cells to human and bacterial receptors.

EISAs (n = 20), showed a significant reduction of BPD (29.0 vs. 70.0%, p = 0.004) and PDA (29.0 vs. 65.0%, p = 0.011). In the subgroup analysis of blood gas, arterial oxygen saturation (SaO 2) value at 1 and 12 h and partial pressure of arterial oxygen (PaO 2) at 12 h were all higher in the EISA group compared to the MISA group. Conclusion : MISA had no clear benefit on the incidence of BPD, but it was related to a reduction in PDA. It is an appropriate therapy for spontaneous breathing in infants with extremely low birth weight and NRDS.

The purpose of this study is to examine the relations among plasma periostin, glucose and lipid metabolism, insulin resistance and inflammation in Chinese patients with obesity (OB), and type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM). Plasma periostin levels in the T2DM group were significantly higher than the NGT group (P < 0.01). Patients with both OB and T2DM had the highest periostin levels. Correlation analysis showed that plasma periostin levels were positively correlated with weight, waist circumference (WC), body mass index (BMI), waist-hip ratio (WHR), fasting plasma glucose (FPG), 2 h postchallenge plasma glucose (2 h PG), glycated hemoglobin (HbA1c), triglyceride (TG), total cholesterol (TC), fasting insulin (FINS), homeostasis model assessment of insulin resistance (HOMA-IR), TNF-α, and IL-6 (P < 0.05 or 0.001) and negatively correlated with high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C) (P < 0.001). Multiple linear regression analysis showed that TG, TNF-α, and HOMA-IR were independent related factors in influencing the levels of plasma periostin (P < 0.001). These results suggested that Chinese patients with obesity and T2DM had significantly higher plasma periostin levels. Plasma periostin levels were strongly associated with plasma TG, chronic inflammation, and insulin resistance.

We investigated whether 1,25-dihydroxy-vitamin D (1,25(OH)D) could improve early diabetic nephropathy through the DNA-damage-inducible transcript 4/tuberous sclerosis 2/mammalian target of rapamycin pathway. Rat mesangial cells were cultured in media containing normal glucose or high glucose and were treated with or without 1,25(OH)D. Mesangial cells proliferation was measured. Streptozotocin-induced diabetic rats were injected intravenously with a recombinant lentivirus against the rat vitamin D receptor gene. Urinary and serum albumin, fasting plasma glucose, serum triglyceride, total cholesterol, calcium, parathyroid hormone and serum 25-dihydroxy-vitamin D (25(OH)D) levels, mean glomerular volume, glomerular basement membrane thickness and total kidney volume were determined. The expressions of vitamin D receptor, DNA-damage-inducible transcript 4, and mammalian target of rapamycin were measured. 1,25(OH)D inhibited the proliferation of mesangial cells induced by hyperglycemia. 1,25(OH)D also significantly reduced albumin excretion, mean glomerular volume, glomerular basement membrane, and total kidney volume in rats with diabetic nephropathy. The expression of DNA-damage-inducible transcript 4 was elevated by 1,25(OH)D treatment. The phosphorylation of mammalian target of rapamycin was reduced by 1,25(OH)D treatment. Vitamin D receptor gene silencing blocked all of the above results. The current study demonstrates that 1,25(OH)D can effectively inhibit mesangial cells proliferation induced by hyperglycemia, thus suppressing the development of diabetic nephropathy. This study also shows that the nephron-protective effect of 1,25(OH)D occurs partly through the DDIT4/TSC2/mTOR pathway.

Hypertrophy of the ligamentum flavum (LF) is one of the key pathomechanisms of lumbar spinal stenosis (LSS). Transforming growth factor (TGF)-β1 is abundantly expressed in hypertrophied degenerative LF tissues from LSS. However, the molecular mechanisms underling the association between TGF-β1 and LF hypertrophy have not yet been fully elucidated. In this study, we investigated the important role of the mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) pathway in the pathogenesis of LSS by analyzing the expression of connective tissue growth factor (CTGF) and extracellular matrix (ECM) components (collagen I and collagen III) in TGF-β1-treated LF cells. Cell growth assay revealed that TGF-β1, in association with CTGF, enhanced the the proliferation of LF cells, and we found that TGF-β1 also elevated CTGF expression and subsequently enhanced the mRNA expression of collagen I and collagen III. The increased mRNA expression levels of CTGF, collagen I and collagen III were abolished by p38 inhibitors. Both immunofluorescence imaging and western blot analysis of p38 and p-p38 revealed the increased expression and phosphorylation of p38. Silencing the expression of p38 by siRNA in LF cells decreased the protein expression of p38, p-p38 and CTGF, as well as the mRNA expression of CTGF, collagen I and collagen III. Taken together, our findings indicate that TGF-β1, in association with the increased expression of CTGF, contribute to the homeostasis of the ECM and to the hypertrophy of LF through the p38 MAPK pathway.