Follicular dendritic cell-secreted protein may enhance osteoclastogenesis in periodontal disease

Immunomodulatory nanotherapeutic approaches for periodontal tissue regeneration

Periodontitis is an infection-induced inflammatory disease characterized by progressive destruction of tooth supporting tissues, which, if left untreated, can result in tooth loss. The destruction of periodontal tissues is primarily caused by an imbalance between the host immune protection and immune destruction mechanisms. The ultimate goal of periodontal therapy is to eliminate inflammation and promote the repair and regeneration of both hard and soft tissues, so as to restore the physiological structure and function of periodontium. Advancement in nanotechnologies has enabled the development of nanomaterials with immunomodulatory properties for regenerative dentistry. This review discusses the immune mechanisms of the major effector cells in the innate and adaptive immune systems, the physicochemical and biological properties of nanomaterials, and the research advancements in immunomodulatory nanotherapeutic approaches for the management of periodontitis and the regeneration of periodontal tissues. The current challenges, and prospects for future applications of nanomaterials are then discussed so that researchers at the intersections of osteoimmunology, regenerative dentistry and materiobiology will continue to advance the development of nanomaterials for improved periodontal tissue regeneration.

FDC-SP as a diagnostic and prognostic biomarker and modulates immune infiltrates in renal cell carcinoma

BACKGROUND

Renal cell carcinoma (RCC), one of the top 10 causes of cancer death, is responsible for more than 90% of all cases of primary renal cancer worldwide. Follicular dendritic cell-secreted protein (FDC-SP) specifically binds to activated B cells and regulates the generation of antibodies. It is also thought to promote cancer cell invasion and migration, which could help with tumor metastases. This study aimed to assess the efficacy of FDC-SP in the diagnosis and prognosis of RCC and to investigate the relationship between immune infiltration in RCC and these outcomes.

RESULTS

RCC tissues had significantly higher levels of FDC-SP protein and mRNA than normal tissues. The high level of FDC-SP expression was linked to the T stage, histological grade, pathological stage, N stage, M stage, and OS event. Functional enrichment analysis identified the major pathways that were enriched as immune response regulation, complement, and coagulation. Immunological checkpoints and immune cell infiltration were observed to substantially correlate with the levels of FDC-SP expression. FDC-SP expression levels showed the ability to precisely distinguish high-grade or high-stage renal cancer (area under the curve (AUC) = 0.830, 0.722), and RCC patients with higher FDC-SP expression levels had worse prognoses. The AUC values for one-, two-, and five-year survival rates were all greater than 0.600. Moreover, the FDC-SP expression is an independent predictive biomarker of OS in RCC patients.

CONCLUSION

FDC-SP may be a prospective therapeutic target in RCC as well as a possible diagnostic and prognostic biomarker associated with immune infiltration.

Immunomodulation in the Treatment of Periodontitis: Progress and Perspectives

Periodontitis is one of the most common dental diseases. Compared with healthy periodontal tissues, the immune microenvironment plays the key role in periodontitis by allowing the invasion of pathogens. It is possible that modulating the immune microenvironment can supplement traditional treatments and may even promote periodontal regeneration by using stem cells, bacteria, etc. New anti-inflammatory therapies can enhance the generation of a viable local immune microenvironment and promote cell homing and tissue formation, thereby achieving higher levels of immune regulation and tissue repair. We screened recent studies to summarize the advances of the immunomodulatory treatments for periodontitis in the aspects of drug therapy, microbial therapy, stem cell therapy, gene therapy and other therapies. In addition, we included the changes of immune cells and cytokines in the immune microenvironment of periodontitis in the section of drug therapy so as to make it clearer how the treatments took effects accordingly. In the future, more research needs to be done to improve immunotherapy methods and understand the risks and long-term efficacy of these methods in periodontitis.

Triptolide inhibits tonsillar IgA production by upregulating FDC-SP in IgA nephropathy

IgA nephropathy (IgAN) is primarily resulted of qualitative abnormality of IgA. The occurrence of IgAN is associated with affected tonsils which enhances the IgA production via IgA class switching and immuno-activation. Follicular dendritic cell-secreted protein (FDC-SP) was found to be a negative effect for IgA production in tonsil. The previous studies suggested that Triptolide might reduce IgA production by its immunosuppression role. Given this background, this study investigated the mechanisms underlying the role of Triptolide and FDC-SP in the generation of IgA and IgA class switching in tonsil of IgAN patients. Immunohistochemistry and reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction revealed that the expression of FDC-SP was increased in the tonsils of IgAN patients with Triptolide treatment compared with those without treatment. Meanwhile, the expression of FDC-SP was negatively correlated with IgA inducing cytokines in the tonsils of IgAN patients treated with Triptolide, due to the significant decreased IgA-bearing cells. The expression of FDC-SP in tonsillar tissue was confirmed by double immunofluorescence. Importantly, Triptolide promoted FDC-SP secretion, and correlated negatively with decreased IgA production in isolated FDC-associated clusters, which had been isolated from patients without TW treatment previously. Our study demonstrated that Triptolide might have an impact on FDC-SP production and downregulation of IgA synthesis in the tonsils of IgAN patients, which could be a promising strategy for therapeutic intervention in IgAN patients.

Effects of interleukin-1β on human follicular dendritic cell-secreted protein gene expression in periodontal ligament cells

Follicular dendritic cell-secreted protein (FDC-SP) is expressed in FDCs, human periodontal ligament (HPL) cells, and junctional epithelium. To evaluate the effects of interleukin-1 beta (IL-1β) on FDC-SP gene expression in immortalized HPL cells, FDC-SP mRNA and protein levels in HPL cells following stimulation by IL-1β were measured by real-time polymerase chain reaction and Western blotting. Luciferase (LUC), gel mobility shift, and chromatin immunoprecipitation (ChIP) analyses were performed to study the interaction between transcription factors and promoter regions in the human FDC-SP gene. IL-1β (1 ng/mL) induced the expression of FDC-SP mRNA and protein levels at 3 h, and reached maximum levels at 12 h. IL-1β increased LUC activities of constructs (-116FDCSP - -948FDCSP) including the FDC-SP gene promoter. Transcriptional inductions by IL-1β were partially inhibited by 3-base-pair (3-bp) mutations in the Yin Yang 1 (YY1), GATA, CCAAT-enhancer-binding protein2 (C/EBP2), or C/EBP3 in the -345FDCSP. IL-1β-induced -345FDCSP activities were inhibited by protein kinase A, tyrosine-kinase, mitogen-activated protein kinase (MEK)1/2, and PI3-kinase inhibitors. The results of gel shift and ChIP assays revealed that YY1, GATA, and C/EBP-β interacted with the YY1, GATA, C/EBP2, and C/EBP3 elements that were increased by IL-1β. These studies demonstrate that IL-1β increases FDC-SP gene transcription in HPL cells by targeting YY1, GATA, C/EBP2, and C/EBP3 in the human FDC-SP gene promoter.