Periodontitis is a common oral disease characterized by progressive alveolar bone resorption and inflammation of the periodontal tissues. Dimethyl fumarate (DMF) has been used in the treatment of various immune-inflammatory diseases due to its excellent anti-inflammatory and antioxidant functions. Here, we investigated for the first time the therapeutic effect of DMF on periodontitis. In vivo studies showed that DMF significantly inhibited periodontal destruction, enhanced mitophagy, and decreased the M1/M2 macrophage ratio. In vitro studies showed that DMF inhibited macrophage polarization toward M1 macrophages and promoted polarization toward M2 macrophages, with improved mitochondrial function, inhibited oxidative stress, and increased mitophagy in RAW 264.7 cells. Furthermore, DMF increased intracellular mitochondrial Tu translation elongation factor (TUFM) levels to maintain mitochondrial homeostasis, promoted mitophagy, and modulated macrophage polarization, whereas TUFM knockdown decreased the protective effect of DMF. Finally, mechanistic studies showed that DMF increased intracellular TUFM levels by protecting TUFM from degradation via the ubiquitin-proteasomal degradation pathway. Our results demonstrate for the first time that DMF protects mitochondrial function and inhibits oxidative stress through TUFM-mediated mitophagy in macrophages, resulting in a shift in the balance of macrophage polarization, thereby attenuating periodontitis. Importantly, this study provides new insights into the prevention of periodontitis.
Dimethyl Fumarate/pharmacology* ; Mitophagy/drug effects* ; Animals ; Mice ; Macrophages/metabolism* ; Periodontitis/prevention & control* ; RAW 264.7 Cells ; Oxidative Stress/drug effects* ; Peptide Elongation Factor Tu/metabolism* ; Mice, Inbred C57BL ; Male ; Mitochondria/drug effects*

Remarkable achievements have been made in the reform and development of higher medical education in China, as evidenced by the 315 awards for medical-related projects in the last six sessions of National Educational Achievement Awards, accounting for 8.99% of the total awards. However, several challenges persist, including an unbalanced regional distribution (e.g., the eastern region consistently accounted for more than 50% of the awards), insufficient investment in ordinary universities, imbalanced talent structure, and underdeveloped collaborative education mechanisms among universities, governments, enterprises. In response, higher medical education should fully implement the fundamental task of fostering virtue and cultivating talent, promote balanced development of medical education nationwide, increase support for ordinary universities, enhance the training of talents in fields with shortages such as public health, and improve the coordination between universities and hospitals as well as multi-party collaboration in talent education. These measures are essential to maximize the practical benefits and guiding values of the award-winning projects.

Remarkable achievements have been made in the reform and development of higher medical education in China, as evidenced by the 315 awards for medical-related projects in the last six sessions of National Educational Achievement Awards, accounting for 8.99% of the total awards. However, several challenges persist, including an unbalanced regional distribution (e.g., the eastern region consistently accounted for more than 50% of the awards), insufficient investment in ordinary universities, imbalanced talent structure, and underdeveloped collaborative education mechanisms among universities, governments, enterprises. In response, higher medical education should fully implement the fundamental task of fostering virtue and cultivating talent, promote balanced development of medical education nationwide, increase support for ordinary universities, enhance the training of talents in fields with shortages such as public health, and improve the coordination between universities and hospitals as well as multi-party collaboration in talent education. These measures are essential to maximize the practical benefits and guiding values of the award-winning projects.

ObjectiveTo investigate the impact of antimicrobial resistance on clinical outcomes and medical care costs among patients with imipenem-resistant Acinetobacter baumannii (IRAB) nosocomial infection.MethodsA retrospective matched case-control study was performed to compare the differences of clinical outcomes and medical care costs between patients with IRAB infection and patients with imipenem-susceptive Acinetobacter baumannii (ISAB) infection in a tertiary care university teaching hospital in China from January 2007 to June 2009.Cases were matched to controls with ratio of 1:1 on the basis of age,sex,severity of underlying diseases,source of infection,duration of hospitalization period and length of hospital stay before onset of infection.The measurement data between groups were compared by t test and rank test.The numeration data between groups were compared by x2 test. Multiple analysis was performed by Logistic regression.ResultsThe total mortality rate of IRAB infection patients was significantly higher than that of ISAB infection patients (39.1％ vs 20.3 ％ ; x2 =11.728,P＜0.01).Among 138 pairs of patients in IRAB group and ISAB group,there were 72 matched case-control pairs survived,which were significantly different in length of total hospital stay (28.5 days vs 23.0 days; x2 =2.886,P＜0.01) and intensive care unit (ICU) stay (14.5 days vs 0 day; x2 =4.844,P＜0.01).For all the 138 case-control pairs,everyday total hospitalization cost and everyday antibiotic therapy cost in IRAB cases were both higher than ISAB controls (RMB 3652 yuan vs RMB 2092 yuan; Z=3.792,P＜0.01 and RMB 555 yuan vs RMB 338 yuan; Z=4.209,P＜0.01).ConclusionIRAB infection can increase the mortality rate,lengthen hospital stay and elevate the medical costs notably.