Periodontitis and peri-implantitis biomarkers in human oral fluids and the null-allele mouse model

Tissue destruction associated with the periodontal disease progression is caused by a cascade of host and microbial factors and proteolytic enzymes. Aberrant laminin-332 (Ln-332), human beta defensin (hBD), and matrix metalloproteinase (MMP) functions have been found in oral inflammatory diseases. The null-allele mouse model appears as the next step in oral disease research. The MMP-8 knock-out mouse model allowed us to clarify the involvement of MMP-8 in vivo in oral and related inflammatory diseases where MMP-8 is suggested to play a key role in tissue destruction. The cleaved Ln-332 γ2-chain species has been implicated in the apical migration of sulcular epithelial cells during the formation of periodontal pockets. We demonstrated that increased Ln-332 fragment levels in gingival crevicular fluid (GCF) are strongly associated with the severity of inflammation in periodontitis. Porphyromonas gingivalis trypsin-like proteinase can cleave an intact Ln-332 γ2-chain into smaller fragments and eventually promote the formation of periodontal pockets. hBDs are components of an innate mucosal defense against pathogenic microbes. Our results suggest that P. gingivalis trypsin-like proteinase can degrade hBD and thus reduce the innate immune response. Elevated levels and the increased activity of MMPs have been detected in several pathological tissue-destructive conditions where MMPs are shown to cleave extracellular matrix (ECM) and basement membrane (BM) molecules and to facilitate tissue destruction. Elevated levels of MMP-8 have been reported in many inflammatory diseases. In periodontitis, MMP-8 levels in gingival crevicular fluid (GCF) and in peri-implant sulcular fluid (PISF) are elevated at sites of active inflammation, and the increased levels of MMP-8 are mainly responsible for collagenase activity, which leads to tissue destruction. MMP-25, expressed by neutrophils, is involved in inflammatory diseases and in ECM turnover. MMP-26 can degrade ECM components and serve as an activator of other MMP enzymes. We further confirmed that increased levels and activation of MMP-8, -25, and -26 in GCF, PISF, and inflamed gingival tissue are associated with the severity of periodontal/peri-implant inflammation. We evaluated the role of MMP-8 in P. gingivalis-induced periodontitis by comparing MMP-8 knock-out (MMP8-/-) and wild-type mice. Surprisingly, MMP-8 significantly attenuated P. gingivalis-induced site-specific alveolar bone loss. We also evaluated systemic changes in serum immunoglobulin and lipoprotein profiles among these mouse groups. P. gingivalis infection increased HDL/VLDL particle size in the MMP-8-/- mice, which is an indicator of lipoprotein responses during systemic inflammation. Serum total LPS and IgG antibody levels were enhanced in both mice groups. P. gingivalis-induced periodontitis, especially in MMP-8-/- mice, is associated with severe alveolar bone loss and with systemic inflammatory and lipoprotein changes that are likely to be involved in early atherosclerosis.

Purification of pharmaceuticals and nutraceutical compounds by sub- and supercritical extraction and chromatography

This thesis discusses the use of sub- and supercritical fluids as the medium in extraction and chromatography. Super- and subcritical extraction was used to separate essential oils from herbal plant Angelica archangelica. The effect of extraction parameters was studied and sensory analyses of the extracts were done by an expert panel. The results of the sensory analyses were compared to the analytically determined contents of the extracts. Sub- and supercritical fluid chromatography (SFC) was used to separate and purify high-value pharmaceuticals. Chiral SFC was used to separate the enantiomers of racemic mixtures of pharmaceutical compounds. Very low (cryogenic) temperatures were applied to substantially enhance the separation efficiency of chiral SFC. The thermodynamic aspects affecting the resolving ability of chiral stationary phases are briefly reviewed. The process production rate which is a key factor in industrial chromatography was optimized by empirical multivariate methods. General linear model was used to optimize the separation of omega-3 fatty acid ethyl esters from esterized fish oil by using reversed-phase SFC. Chiral separation of racemic mixtures of guaifenesin and ferulic acid dimer ethyl ester was optimized by using response surface method with three variables per time. It was found that by optimizing four variables (temperature, load, flowate and modifier content) the production rate of the chiral resolution of racemic guaifenesin by cryogenic SFC could be increased severalfold compared to published results of similar application. A novel pressure-compensated design of industrial high pressure chromatographic column was introduced, using the technology developed in building the deep-sea submersibles (Mir 1 and 2). A demonstration SFC plant was built and the immunosuppressant drug cyclosporine A was purified to meet the requirements of US Pharmacopoeia. A smaller semi-pilot size column with similar design was used for cryogenic chiral separation of aromatase inhibitor Finrozole for use in its development phase 2.

Use of non-specific and specific interactions in the analysis of testosterone and related compounds by capillary electromigration techniques

Determination of testosterone and related compounds in body fluids is of utmost importance in doping control and the diagnosis of many diseases. Capillary electromigration techniques are a relatively new approach for steroid research. Owing to their electrical neutrality, however, separation of steroids by capillary electromigration techniques requires the use of charged electrolyte additives that interact with the steroids either specifically or non-specifically. The analysis of testosterone and related steroids by non-specific micellar electrokinetic chromatography (MEKC) was investigated in this study. The partial filling (PF) technique was employed, being suitable for detection by both ultraviolet spectrophotometry (UV) and electrospray ionization mass spectrometry (ESI-MS). Efficient, quantitative PF-MEKC UV methods for steroid standards were developed through the use of optimized pseudostationary phases comprising surfactants and cyclodextrins. PF-MEKC UV proved to be a more sensitive, efficient and repeatable method for the steroids than PF-MEKC ESI-MS. It was discovered that in PF-MEKC analyses of electrically neutral steroids, ESI-MS interfacing sets significant limitations not only on the chemistry affecting the ionization and detection processes, but also on the separation. The new PF-MEKC UV method was successfully employed in the determination of testosterone in male urine samples after microscale immunoaffinity solid-phase extraction (IA-SPE). The IA-SPE method, relying on specific interactions between testosterone and a recombinant anti-testosterone Fab fragment, is the first such method described for testosterone. Finally, new data for interactions between steroids and human and bovine serum albumins were obtained through the use of affinity capillary electrophoresis. A new algorithm for the calculation of association constants between proteins and neutral ligands is introduced.

Antioxidative long chain alkylresorcinols. Synthesis and deuterium labelling of bioactive compounds present in whole grains

The first synthesis of long chain 5-n-alkylresorcinols (C15-C25) in whole grains and whole grain products by a novel modification of Wittig reaction is described. 5-n-Alkylresorcinols are phenolic lipids that have various effects on biological systems, such as antioxidant activity and interaction with biological membranes. These compounds are considered as biomarkers of whole grain intake, which is connected with reduced risk of cardiovascular diseases and certain cancers. Novel hapten derivatives of 5-n-alkylresorcinols, potential compounds for immunoanalytical techniques, are prepared by the same procedure utilizing microwave catalysed aqueous Wittig reaction as the key step. The synthesised analogues are required by various analytical, metabolism and bioactivity investigations. Four alternative strategies for producing deuterium polylabelled 5-n-alkylresorcinols are explored. Ring-labelled D3-alkylresorcinols were synthesized by acidic H/D exchange. Side chain -labelled D4-derivative was prepared by a total synthesis approach utilizing D2 deuterogenation of a D2-alkene derivative, and deuterogenation of alkynes was investigated in another total synthesis approach. An -D3-labelled alkylresorcinol is isotopically pure and completely stable under all relevant conditions encountered during analytical work. The labelling of another phenolic component of whole grains was explored. The preparation of D3-ferulic acid and related compounds by way of selective methylation of the precursors is described. The deuterated compounds are useful as standards in the quantification of these natural products in various substances, such as food and human fluids. The pure 5-n-alkylresorcinol analogues prepared were used in in vitro experiments on alkylresorcinol antioxidant activity and antigenotoxicity. The in vitro experiments show that alkylresorcinols act as antioxidants, especially when incorporated into biological systems, but possess lower activity in chemical tests (FRAP and DPPH assay). Whole grain alkylresorcinols are shown for the first time to have a protective effect against copper induced oxidation of LDL, and H2O2 or genotoxic faecal water induced damage on HT29 cells.

Human trypsinogens in the pancreas and in cancer

Human pancreatic juice contains two major trypsinogen isoenzymes called trypsinogen-1 and -2, or cationic and anionic trypsinogen, respectively. Trypsinogen isoenzymes are also expressed in various normal and malignant tissues. We aimed at developing monoclonal antibodies (MAbs) and time-resolved immunofluorometric methods recognizing human trypsinogen-1 and -2, respectively. Using these MAbs and methods we purified, characterized and quantitated trypsinogen isoenzymes in serum samples, ovarian cyst fluids and conditioned cell culture media. In sera from healthy subjects and patients with extrapancreatic disease the concentration of trypsinogen-1 is higher than that of trypsinogen-2. However, in acute pancreatitis we found that the concentration of serum trypsinogen-2 is 50-fold higher than in controls, whereas the difference in trypsinogen-1 concentration is only 15-fold. This suggested that trypsinogen-2 could be used as a diagnostic marker for acute pancreatitis. In human ovarian cyst fluids tumor-associated trypsinogen-2 (TAT-2) is the predominant isoenzyme. Most notably, in mucinous cyst fluids the levels of TAT-2 were higher in borderline and malignant than in benign cases. The increased levels in association with malignancy suggested that TAT could be involved in ovarian tumor dissemination and breakage of tissue barriers. Serum samples from patients who had undergone pancreatoduodenectomy contained trypsinogen-2. Trypsinogen-1 was detected in only one of nine samples. These results suggested that the expression of trypsinogen is not restricted to the pancreas. Determination of the isoenzyme pattern by ion exchange chromatography revealed isoelectric variants of trypsinogen isoenzymes in serum samples. Intact trypsinogen isoenzymes and tryptic and chymotryptic trypsinogen peptides were purified and characterized by mass spectrometry, Western blot analysis and N-terminal sequencing. The results showed that pancreatic trypsinogen-1 and -2 are sulfated at tyrosine 154 (Tyr154), whereas TAT-2 from a colon carcinoma cell line is not. Tyr154 is located within the primary substrate binding pocket of trypsin, thus Tyr154 sulfation is likely to influence substrate binding. The previously known differences in charge, substrate specificity and inhibitor binding between pancreatic and tumor-associated trypsinogens are suggested to be caused by sulfation of Tyr154 in pancreatic trypsinogens.

Breath Testing by Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy for Solvent Intoxication Diagnostics

Technical or contaminated ethanol products are sometimes ingested either accidentally or on purpose. Typical misused products are black-market liquor and automotive products, e.g., windshield washer fluids. In addition to less toxic solvents, these liquids may contain the deadly methanol. Symptoms of even lethal solvent poisoning are often non-specific at the early stage. The present series of studies was carried out to develop a method for solvent intoxication breath diagnostics to speed up the diagnosis procedure conventionally based on blood tests. Especially in the case of methanol ingestion, the analysis method should be sufficiently sensitive and accurate to determine the presence of even small amounts of methanol from the mixture of ethanol and other less-toxic components. In addition to the studies on the FT-IR method, the Dräger 7110 evidential breath analyzer was examined to determine its ability to reveal a coexisting toxic solvent. An industrial Fourier transform infrared analyzer was modified for breath testing. The sample cell fittings were widened and the cell size reduced in order to get an alveolar sample directly from a single exhalation. The performance and the feasibility of the Gasmet FT-IR analyzer were tested in clinical settings and in the laboratory. Actual human breath screening studies were carried out with healthy volunteers, inebriated homeless men, emergency room patients and methanol-intoxicated patients. A number of the breath analysis results were compared to blood test results in order to approximate the blood-breath relationship. In the laboratory experiments, the analytical performance of the Gasmet FT-IR analyzer and Dräger 7110 evidential breath analyzer was evaluated by means of artificial samples resembling exhaled breath. The investigations demonstrated that a successful breath ethanol analysis by Dräger 7110 evidential breath analyzer could exclude any significant methanol intoxication. In contrast, the device did not detect very high levels of acetone, 1-propanol and 2-propanol in simulated breath. The Dräger 7110 evidential breath ethanol analyzer was not equipped to recognize the interfering component. According to the studies the Gasmet FT-IR analyzer was adequately sensitive, selective and accurate for solvent intoxication diagnostics. In addition to diagnostics, the fast breath solvent analysis proved feasible for controlling the ethanol and methanol concentration during haemodialysis treatment. Because of the simplicity of the sampling and analysis procedure, non-laboratory personnel, such as police officers or social workers, could also operate the analyzer for screening purposes.

Preterm delivery and selected biomarkers : phosphorylated insulin-like growth factor-binding protein-1 and matrix metalloproteinase-8 – in cervical fluid

Premature delivery is a major cause of neonatal morbidity and mortality. The incidence of premature deliveries has increased around the world. In Finland 5.3%, or about 3,000 children per year are born prematurely, before 37 weeks of gestation. The corresponding figure in the United States is about 13%. The morbidity and mortality are highest among infants delivered before 32 weeks of gestation - about 600 children each year in Finland. Approximately 70% of premature deliveries are unexplained. Preterm delivery can be caused by an asympto-matic infection between uterus and the fetal membranes, such can begin already in early pregnancy. It is difficult to predict preterm delivery, and many patients are therefore unnecessarily admitted to hospital for observation and exposed to medical treatments. On the other hand, the high risk women should be identified early for the best treatment of the mother and preterm infant. --- In the prospective study conducted at the Department of Obstetric and Gynecology, Helsinki University Central Hospital two biochemical inflammation related markers were measured in the lower genital tract fluids of asymp-tomatic women in early and mid pregnancy in an order to see whether these markers could identify women with an increased risk of preterm delivery. These biomarkers were phosphorylated insulin-like growth factor binding protein-1 (phIGFBP-1) and matrix metalloproteinase-8 (MMP-8). The study involved 5180 asymptomatic pregnant women, examined during the first and second ultrasound screening visits. The study samples were taken from the vagina and cervicix. In addition, 246 symptomatic women were studied (pregnancy weeks 22 – 34). The study showed that increased phIGFBP-1 concentration in cervical canal fluid in early pregnancy increased the risk for preterm delivery. The risk for very premature birth (before 32 weeks of gestation) was nearly four-fold. Low MMP-8 concentration in mid pregnancy increased the risk of subsequent premature preterm rupture of fetal membranes (PPROM). Significantly high MMP-8 concentrations in the cervical fluid increased the risk for prema-ture delivery initiated by preterm labour with intact membranes. Among women with preterm contractions the shortened cervical length measured by ultrasound and elevated cervical fluid phIGFBP-1 both predicted premature delivery. In summary, because of the relatively low sensitivity of cervical fluid phIGFBP-1 this biomarker is not suitable for routine screening, but provides an additional tool in assessing the risk of preterm delivery. Cervical fluid MMP-8 is not useful in early or mid pregnancy in predicting premature delivery because of its dual role. Further studies on the role of MMP-8 are therefore needed. Our study confirms that phIGFBP-1 testing is useful in predicting pre-term delivery.

Open and closed boundaries in large-scale convective dynamos

Earlier work has suggested that large-scale dynamos can reach and maintain equipartition field strengths on a dynamical time scale only if magnetic helicity of the fluctuating field can be shed from the domain through open boundaries. To test this scenario in convection-driven dynamos by comparing results for open and closed boundary conditions. Three-dimensional numerical simulations of turbulent compressible convection with shear and rotation are used to study the effects of boundary conditions on the excitation and saturation level of large-scale dynamos. Open (vertical field) and closed (perfect conductor) boundary conditions are used for the magnetic field. The contours of shear are vertical, crossing the outer surface, and are thus ideally suited for driving a shear-induced magnetic helicity flux. We find that for given shear and rotation rate, the growth rate of the magnetic field is larger if open boundary conditions are used. The growth rate first increases for small magnetic Reynolds number, Rm, but then levels off at an approximately constant value for intermediate values of Rm. For large enough Rm, a small-scale dynamo is excited and the growth rate in this regime increases proportional to Rm^(1/2). In the nonlinear regime, the saturation level of the energy of the mean magnetic field is independent of Rm when open boundaries are used. In the case of perfect conductor boundaries, the saturation level first increases as a function of Rm, but then decreases proportional to Rm^(-1) for Rm > 30, indicative of catastrophic quenching. These results suggest that the shear-induced magnetic helicity flux is efficient in alleviating catastrophic quenching when open boundaries are used. The horizontally averaged mean field is still weakly decreasing as a function of Rm even for open boundaries.

Synthetic Modifications of Estrogens and Androgens

Estrogens the female sex hormones have numerous biological actions. Estradiol is the most abundant estrogen in women before menopause. It influences the development, maturation and function of the female reproductive tract. It also plays a role in mammary cancer. Accordingly determinations of estradiol level in body fluids assist in the evaluation of ovarian function and diagnosis for malignancies. Estriol is the primary estrogen in pregnant women and secreted from the fetoplacental unit. Measurement of estriol in maternal body fluids is the basis of fetoplacental monitoring test. Concentration of estrogens in body fluids is determined by immunoassay. Accuracy of this measurement depends on the availability of a specific antibody. As estrogens are not antigenic, their derivatives (haptens) are coupled with a carrier and this hapten-protein conjugate is used to generate antibodies. Specificity of the generated antibody largely depends on the structure of hapten. Therefore the synthesis of a hapten with a right structure is crucial for the accurate measurement of a steroid. We have synthesised new haptens for estradiol and estriol by adding an alkyl or alkoxy side chain at the C-7 of estrane skeleton. The side chains carry a terminal amino group, which can be used for conjugation with a carrier molecule. Estrogens and their biosynthetic precursor androgens both exist as fatty acid esters. They are known to act as hormone storage but their physiological role is not completely known yet. Our collaborator is studying their effect in cardiovascular diseases. We synthesised fatty acid ester derivatives of several steroids in high yield by a very rapid procedure (in 1 min) under microwave irradiation in an ionic liquid (IL). An expedient regioselective hydrolysis at C-3 of estradiol diesters is also reported. 8-Isoestrogens are compounds of pharmaceutical interests, their synthesis, structure, conformation and biological activity studies are ongoing. 7-Hydroxy-8-isoestradiol and 7-alkyl ether of it were synthesised as well. During this study we have developed a selective O-debenzylation method. A mild route for selective removal of benzylic protection on phenol in presence of benzyl protected alcohol was explored.

Neoarchean sanukitoid series in the Karelian Province, Finland

Sanukitoid series intrusions can be found throughout the Archean Karelian Province of the Fennoscandian shield. All sanukitoids share the same controversial elemental characteristics: they have high content of incompatible elements such as K, Ba, and Sr as well as high content of the compatible elements Mg, Cr, and Ni, and high Mg#. This composition is explained by an enriched mantle wedge origin in a Neoarchean subduction setting. This study concentrates on sanukitoid intrusions and tonalite-trondhjemite-granodiorite series (TTGs) from Finnish part of the Karelian Province. The collected rock samples have been studied in the field and under microscope as well as for their whole-rock (including isotopes) and mineral compositions. The new data together with previously published analyses help us to better understand the petrogenesis, tectonic setting and reworking of the Archean rock units. TTGs from the Karelian Province form a voluminous series of granitoids and reworked migmatites. This study divides TTG series into two subgroups based on their elemental composition: low-HREE (heavy rare earth element) TTGs and high-HREE TTGs indicating pressure differences in their source. Sanukitoid series is a minor, divergent group of intrusions. These intrusions are variable sized, and the texture varies from even-grained to K-feldspar porphyritic. The elemental composition differentiates sanukitoids from more voluminous TTG groups, the SiO2 in sanukitoids varies to include series of gabbro, diorite, and granodiorite. U Pb age determinations from sanukitoid series show temporally limited emplacement between ~ 2745 2715 Ma after the main crust forming period in the area. Hafnium, neodymium, common lead, and oxygene isotopes indicate well homogenized characteristics. Recycled crust has made a variable, yet minor, contribution to sanukitoids, as evidenced by oxygene isotopes and inherited zircon cores. A proposed tectonic setting for the formation of the sanukitoid series is slab breakoff of oceanic lithosphere in subduction setting, with sanukitoids deriving from an enriched mantle wedge. The proposed setting explains some of the peculiar features of sanukitoids, such as their temporally limited occurrence and controversial elemental composition. Sanukitoids would occur after cessation of the regional growth of Archean crust, and they could be derived from mantle wedge previously enriched by melts and fluids from oceanic crust and sediments. A subsequent event during the Paleoproterozoic Svecofennian orogeny at ~1.9 Ga affected the appearance and microstructures of the rocks as well as caused redistribution of lead between minerals and whole rock. However, the deformation was not able to obliterate the original geochemical characteristics of these sanukitoids.