Objective: To isolate and identify Prevotella nigrescens (P.nigrescens) in gingival crevicular fluid of patients with chronic periodontitis and to analyze its tumor-promoting role in esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC). Methods: Samples of gingival crevicular fluid were collected from patients with chronic periodontitis and cultured on GAM agar medium under anaerobic conditions. Black colonies on GAM agar plates were picked for subculture, and then the bacteria were isolated and purified. Bacterial identification was conducted using Gram staining and 16S rDNA sequencing analysis. The isolated bacterial species was used to infect ESCC NE6-T cells and the changes in biological characteristics of the infected cells were evaluated. Results: Multiple bacterial colonies were observed after anaerobic culturing of gingival crevicular fluid samples for 120 h on GAM agar plates. A single bacterial colony with pure black and smooth appearance was obtained from grey black bacterial colonies with streak method. It was a Gram-negative bacterium with bead-like shape. It showed 99.78% 16S rDNA sequence identity with P. nigrescens F0103 and was named P. nigrescens LY01. P. nigrescens LY01 infection promoted the in vitro proliferation, migration and invasion of NE6-T cells and the growth of subcutaneous xenograft in nude mice. In addition, it could also induce the upregulation of Ki67 and activation of p-STAT3. Conclusions P. nigrescens inhabiting in gingival sulcus might promote the progression of ESCC in human with chronic periodontitis.

Objective:To investigate the effects of Porphyromonas gingivalis ( P. gingivalis) fimbrillin (FimA) on the progression of esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC). Methods:Wild-type P. gingivalis and fimA gene-deleted P. gingivalis ( fimA-/-P. gingivalis) were used to infect ESCC cells after morphology and PCR identification. Immunofluorescence, CCK-8 and Transwell chamber were used to detect the effects of FimA on the infectivity of P. gingivalis and it influences on cell invasion, proliferation and migration. Western blot was used to detect pSmad2/3 changes. The growth of tumor was detected in a nude mouse model bearing subcutaneous tumor. Results:Deletion of FimA might reduce the interbacterial adhesion of P. gingivalis. Compared with wild-type P. gingivalis, less fimA-/-P. gingivalis could infect NE6-T cells. Moreover, the proliferation, migration and invasion of NE6-T and KYSE30 cells as well as the activation of pSmad2/3 induced by P. gingivalis were inhibited after deletion of FimA. The growth of KYSE30 infected by fimA-/-P. gingivalis in nude mice was significantly slower than that of the wild-type P. gingivalis group. Conclusions:FimA mediated the effects of P. gingivalis on promoting the evolution of ESCC and was a potential target molecule to block the tumor-promoting effect of P. gingivalis.

BACKGROUNDIn the TARGET I randomized controlled trial, the novel abluminal groove-filled biodegradable polymer sirolimus-eluting stent FIREHAWK proved non-inferior to the everolimus-eluting stent in nine-month in-stent late loss in single de novo coronary lesions. This study was aimed at evaluating clinical safety and effectiveness of FIREHAWK in a moderately complex population (including patients with small vessels, long lesions and multi-vessels), and at validating the ability of the SYNTAX score (SS) to predict clinical outcomes in patients treated with this latest generation drug-eluting stent.

METHODSTARGET II was a prospective, multicenter, single-arm study with primary outcome of 12-month target lesion failure (TLF), including cardiac death, target vessel myocardial infarction (TV-MI) and ischemia-driven target lesion revascularization (TLR). Stent thrombosis was defined according to the Academic Research Consortium (ARC) definition. Patients were grouped by tertiles of SS (≤6, >6 to ≤12, and >12). All patients were exclusively treated with the FIREHAWK stent and were followed up at 1, 6, and 12 months, and annually thereafter up to five years.

RESULTSA total of 730 patients were included in this registry study. The 12-month incidence of TLF was 4.4% and the incidence of TLF components were, cardiac death 0.5%, TV-MI 3.2%, and TLR 2.2%. One definite/probable stent thrombosis was observed at 12-month follow-up. Mean SS was 10.87±6.87. Patients in the SS >12 tertile had significantly higher TLF (P = 0.02) and TLR (P < 0.01) rates than those in lower SS groups. In COX proportional-hazards regression analyses, TLF incidence was strongly related to lesion length (long lesion vs. non-long lesion patients; HR 3.416, 95% CI, 1.622-7.195), but unrelated to diabetic, small vessel, and multivessel subgroups.

CONCLUSIONSThe low TLF incidence in this study indicates that FIREHAWK is safe and effective in the treatment of moderately complex coronary disease. SS is also able to predict adverse clinical outcomes in FIREHAWK treated patients.

Adolescent ; Adult ; Aged ; Biocompatible Materials ; chemistry ; Cardiovascular Agents ; therapeutic use ; Coronary Stenosis ; drug therapy ; therapy ; Coronary Vessels ; pathology ; Drug-Eluting Stents ; Female ; Humans ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Percutaneous Coronary Intervention ; Polymers ; Proportional Hazards Models ; Sirolimus ; therapeutic use ; Young Adult