Despite recent studies, relatively few are known about the diversity of fungal communities in the deep Atlantic Ocean. In this study, we investigated the diversity of fungal communities in 15 different deep-sea sediments from the South Atlantic Ocean with a culturedependent approach followed by phylogenetic analysis of ITS sequences. A total of 29fungal strains were isolated from the 15 deep-sea sediments. These strains belong to four fungal genera, including Aspergillus, Cladosporium, Penicillium, and Alternaria. Penicillium, accounting for 44.8% of the total fungal isolates, was a dominant genus. The antiaflatoxigenic activity of these deep-sea fungal isolates was studied. Surprisingly, most of the strains showed moderate to strong antiaflatoxigenic activity. Four isolates, belonging to species of Penicillium polonicum, Penicillium chrysogenum, Aspergillus versicolor, and Cladosporium cladosporioides, could completely inhibit not only the mycelial growth of Aspergillus parasiticus mutant strain NFRI-95, but also the aflatoxin production. To our knowledge, this is the first report to investigate the antiaflatoxigenic activity of culturable deep-sea fungi. Our results provide new insights into the community composition of fungi in the deep South Atlantic Ocean. The high proportion of strains that displayed antiaflatoxigenic activity demonstrates that deep-sea fungi from the Atlantic Ocean are valuable resources for mining bioactive compounds.

Despite recent studies, relatively few are known about the diversity of fungal communities in the deep Atlantic Ocean. In this study, we investigated the diversity of fungal communities in 15 different deep-sea sediments from the South Atlantic Ocean with a culturedependent approach followed by phylogenetic analysis of ITS sequences. A total of 29fungal strains were isolated from the 15 deep-sea sediments. These strains belong to four fungal genera, including Aspergillus, Cladosporium, Penicillium, and Alternaria. Penicillium, accounting for 44.8% of the total fungal isolates, was a dominant genus. The antiaflatoxigenic activity of these deep-sea fungal isolates was studied. Surprisingly, most of the strains showed moderate to strong antiaflatoxigenic activity. Four isolates, belonging to species of Penicillium polonicum, Penicillium chrysogenum, Aspergillus versicolor, and Cladosporium cladosporioides, could completely inhibit not only the mycelial growth of Aspergillus parasiticus mutant strain NFRI-95, but also the aflatoxin production. To our knowledge, this is the first report to investigate the antiaflatoxigenic activity of culturable deep-sea fungi. Our results provide new insights into the community composition of fungi in the deep South Atlantic Ocean. The high proportion of strains that displayed antiaflatoxigenic activity demonstrates that deep-sea fungi from the Atlantic Ocean are valuable resources for mining bioactive compounds.

OBJECTIVES: Currently, the research results regarding the bilateral temporomandibular joint symmetry in patients at different ages with unilateral complete cleft lip and palate (UCLP) are still controversial. In this study, the position of condyle in the articular fossa and morphology of condyle in UCLP patients at different developmental stages was measured and analyzed to explore the asymmetry difference, which can provide a new theoretical basis for the sequential therapy. METHODS: A total of 90 patients with UCLP were divided into a mixed dentition group (31 cases), a young permanent dentition group (31 cases) and an old permanent dentition group (28 cases) according to age and dentition development. Cone beam computed tomography (CBCT) images were imported into Invivo5 software for 3D reconstruction, and the joint space, anteroposterior diameter, medio-lateral diameter, and height of condylar were measured, and its asymmetry index was calculated. RESULTS: The asymmetry index of condylar height and anteroposterior diameter among the 3 groups, from small to large, was the mixed dentition groupP<0.05). There was no significant difference in condylar anteroposterior diameter and asymmetry index between the mixed dentition group and the young permanent dentition group (both P>0.05), all of them were lower than those in the old permanent dentition group (both P<0.05). Compared with the normal side, the height of fracture condyle was smaller among the 3 groups (all P<0.05), and the anterior joint space was smaller (P<0.05) and the posterior joint space was larger (P<0.05) in the mixed dentition group. CONCLUSIONS In patients with UCLP, the asymmetry of condylar morphology increases with age, but the condylar position tends to normal. These results suggest that early treatment has important clinical significance for the morphologic development of temporomandibular joint in UCLP patients.
Humans ; Cleft Lip/diagnostic imaging* ; Cleft Palate/diagnostic imaging* ; Temporomandibular Joint/diagnostic imaging* ; Clinical Relevance

Objective To investigate the expression of vascular cell adhesion molecule-1 (VC.AM-1) in oxidative stress induced hypertrophic chondrocytes,in Kaschin-Beck disease (KBD) patients and in rat fed with T-2 toxin under selenium deficient conditions in order to analyze the relationship between VCAM-1 biological function and the dysregulation of chondrocyte differentiation in KBD.Methods The ATDC5 was cultured in 1％ ITS solution (10 mg/L insulin,5.5 mg/L transferrin,and 6.7 μg/L sodium selenite) for 21 days,and stimulated with 3-morpholino-sydnonimine (SIN-1,a nitric oxide [NO] donor) to obtain the oxidative stress induced hypertrophic chondrocytes.Real-time PCR was used to detect VCAM-1 mRNA in hypertrophic chondrocytes induced by different concentrations of SIN-1.The expressions of VCAM-I in articular cartilage of child and adult KBD patients and KBD animal model were determined via the immunohistochemical method,and KBD cartilage samples were obtained in KBD areas from KBD child who had died or from adults who had had surgery.Results After treatment of hypertrophic chondrocytes (ATCD5 cells) with SIN-1 (0,1,3,5 mmol/L),VCAM-1 mRNA levels (1.00 + 0.00,1.22 ± 0.20,0.71 ± 0.22,0.37 ± 0.16) were decreased in a dose-dependent manner when compared with the control group (F =27.788,P ＜ 0.05).The densities of VCAM-1 positive cells in superficial and middle zones of the articular cartilage of children KBD patients [(16.08 ± 5.20)％,(19.20 ± 9.71)％] were higher than those of control group [(0.00 ± 0.00)％,(0.00 ± 0.00)％],while that in the deep zone [(7.00 ± 4.40)％] in children KBD patients was significantly lower than that of control [(51.60 ± 20.58)％,tS/M/D=-10.972,-6.249,6.564,P ＜ 0.05].The positive cell density of VCAM-1 in the adult patients was significantly increased in the superficial zone [(7.92 ± 4.29)％ vs (3.12 ± 1.12)％] but significantly decreased in the middle zone [(17.54 ± 8.27)％ vs (31.75 ± 13.30)％] of articular cartilage when compared with that of control group (tS/D =-3.824,3.037,P ＜ 0.05).In articular cartilage of the four groups of KBD rats,the density of VCAM-1 positive cells in the superficial zone was significantly higher in low selenium diet group,T-2 toxin diet group and selenium deficient plus T-2 toxin diet group [(4.11 ± 1.90)％,(5.00 ±2.02)％,(2.78 ± 1.48)％ vs (1.89 ± 1.76)％,P ＜ 0.05].But the density of VCAM-1 positive cells in the deep zone was significantly lower in rat feed with selenium diet and selenium deficient plus T-2 toxin diet [(13.67 ± 2.45)％,(20.56 ± 7.42)％] than that of control group [(33.00 ± 12.57)％,P ＜ 0.05] in the epiphyseal cartilage of KBD rats.Conclusions The level of VCAM-1 is decreased both in the SIN-1 induced hypertrophic chondrocytes and in the deep zone of articular cartilage in KBD patients and in rat fed with T-2 toxin and selenium-deficient diets.VCAM-1 may be associated with the death of deep zone chondrocytes and differentiation disorder in cartilage.

Objective To investigate the effect of fluid flow shear stress(FFSS)on the fluid mechanic threshold of high-mobility group box 1(HMGB1)release by synovial cells and chondrocytes.Moreover,the mechanism of chondro-cyte and synovial cell damage induced by abnormal mechanical force was investigated to provide an experimental basis for exploring the pathogenesis and pathology of temporomandibular joint osteoarthritis.Methods With the approval of the Ethics Committee for Animal Experiments of the hospital,synovial tissue and cartilage tissue blocks were obtained from the knee joints of Sprague-Dawley(SD)rats,and synovial cells and chondrocytes were cultured and digested for subsequent experiments.Synovial cells and chondrocytes of 3-4 generations were acquired,and FFSS was applied to sy-novial and cartilage cells using a fluid shear mechanical device.The cells were divided according to the FFSS values of different sizes.Synovial cells were stimulated for 1 h with 1,3,5,or 10 dyn/cm2 of FFSS,and chondrocytes were stimu-lated for 1 h with 4,8,12,or 16 dyn/cm2 of FFSS.Resting cultures(0 dyn/cm2)were used as the control group.Changes in the morphology of the cells were observed.The expression and distribution of HMGB1 and interleukin-1β(IL-1β)were observed by immunohistochemistry.The expression of HMGB1 and IL-1β in the supernatant was analyzed by ELI-SA.The protein expression levels of intracellular HMGB1 and IL-1β were detected by Western blot.Results With in-creasing FFSS,the synovial cells and chondrocytes gradually swelled and ruptured,and the number of cells decreased.With increasing FFSS,the localizationof HMGB1 and IL-1β gradually shifted from the nucleus to the cytoplasm.In synovial cells,compared with those in the control group,the expression levels of HMGB1 and IL-1β were increased both in the supernatant and cells in the 1,3,5 and 10 dyn/cm2 intervention groups(P＜0.01).In chondrocytes,com-pared with those in the control group,the expression levels of HMGB1 in the supernatant were increased in the 4,12 and 16 dyn/cm2 intervention groups(P＜0.05),and the protein expression levels of HMGB1 were significantly increased(P＜0.01).The expression levels of HMGB1 in the supernatant were significantly increased in the 8 dyn/cm2 intervention groups(P＜0.01);however,the protein expression levels of HMGB1 were significantly decreased.Compared with those in the control group,the expression levels of IL-1β in the supernatant gradually increased in the 4,8,12 and 16 dyn/cm2 intervention groups(P＜0.01).With the exception of those in the 4 dyn/cm2 group,the protein expression levels of IL-1β gradually increased with increasing FFSS(P＜0.05).Conclusion With increasing FFSS,synovial cells and chondro-cytes gradually swelled and burst,and the hydromechanical thresholds of HMGB1 release were 1 dyn/cm2 and 8 dyn/cm2,respectively.Therefore,upon stimulation with a mechanical force,synovial damage was damaged before chondrocytes.