Mechanisms of action of systemic antibiotics used in periodontal treatment and mechanisms of bacterial resistance to these drugs

Antibiotics are important adjuncts in the treatment of infectious diseases, including periodontitis. The most severe criticisms to the indiscriminate use of these drugs are their side effects and, especially, the development of bacterial resistance. The knowledge of the biological mechanisms involved with the antibiotic usage would help the medical and dental communities to overcome these two problems. Therefore, the aim of this manuscript was to review the mechanisms of action of the antibiotics most commonly used in the periodontal treatment (i.e. penicillin, tetracycline, macrolide and metronidazole) and the main mechanisms of bacterial resistance to these drugs. Antimicrobial resistance can be classified into three groups: intrinsic, mutational and acquired. Penicillin, tetracycline and erythromycin are broad-spectrum drugs, effective against gram-positive and gram-negative microorganisms. Bacterial resistance to penicillin may occur due to diminished permeability of the bacterial cell to the antibiotic; alteration of the penicillin-binding proteins, or production of β-lactamases. However, a very small proportion of the subgingival microbiota is resistant to penicillins. Bacteria become resistant to tetracyclines or macrolides by limiting their access to the cell, by altering the ribosome in order to prevent effective binding of the drug, or by producing tetracycline/macrolide-inactivating enzymes. Periodontal pathogens may become resistant to these drugs. Finally, metronidazole can be considered a prodrug in the sense that it requires metabolic activation by strict anaerobe microorganisms. Acquired resistance to this drug has rarely been reported. Due to these low rates of resistance and to its high activity against the gram-negative anaerobic bacterial species, metronidazole is a promising drug for treating periodontal infections

Relações radiométricas de uma cultura de cana-de-açucar Radiometric relations of a sugarcane crop

Durante o período de máximo índice de área foliar de uma cultura de cana-de-açúcar, cv. NA56-79, os coeficientes de reflexão, transmissão e absorção da radiação solar incidente variaram em função do ângulo de incidência dos raios solares e da faixa espectral considerada. A radiação fotossinteticamente ativa (PAR) foi sempre menos refletida e transmitida e mais absorvida que a radiação do infravermelho próximo (NIR). Em geral, para as frações consideradas, obtiveram-se as seguintes relações radiométricas: (1) radiação disponível, NPAR = 1,2 NNIR; (2) radiação refletida, RPAR = 0,1 RNIR; (3) radiação transmitida, TPAR = 0,2 TNIR; (4) radiação absorvida, APAR = 1,6 ANIR.<br>During the period of maximum leaf area index of a sugarcane crop, cv. NA56-79, the coefficients of reflection, transmission and absorption of the incoming solar radiation were function of solar elevation and the waveband considered. The photosynthetically active radiation (PAR) was always less reflected and transmitted but more absorbed than the near infrared radiation (NIR). In general, for the wavebands considered, the following radiometric relations were obtained: (1) net solar radiation, NPAR = 1.2 NNIR; (2) reflected radiation, RPAR = 0.1 RNIR; (3) transmitted radiation, TPAR = 0.2 TNIR; (4) absorbed radiation, APAR = 1.6 ANIR

Human monoclonal natural autoantibodies against the T-cell receptor inhibit interleukin-2 production in murine T cells

Natural autoantibodies (NAAbs) specific for the T-cell receptor (TCR) are present in all human sera, but individuals with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) generally produce higher titres of immunoglobulin M (IgM) isotype autoantibodies (AAbs) against Vβ TCR epitopes. To investigate possible correlations between the specificity of such AAbs and their role in immunomodulation, we generated seven B-cell hetero-hybridomas, secreting monoclonal IgM NAAbs, from the synovial tissue and peripheral blood of patients with RA. Here we report three anti-TCR monoclonal autoantibodies (mAAbs) – OR2, OR5 and Syn 2H-11 – with the ability to bind subsets of murine T cells, including the ovalbumin-specific DO-11.10 clone. These antibodies did not induce apoptosis in vitro, but prevented interleukin-2 (IL-2) production by antigen-specific T cells. These findings suggest an immunomodulatory function for NAAbs to TCR V-region epitopes and serve as the foundation for testing human anti-TCR mAAbs in animal models with the eventual goal of using them as therapeutic agents in human disease