Periodontitis and Rheumatoid Arthritis in Sub-Saharan Africa, Gaps and Way Forward: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

Background: This review identified papers that described periodontitis and rheumatoid arthritis in sub-Saharan Africa. Only English language publications from January 2010 to December 2017 describing original research in sub-Saharan Africa on the association between periodontitis and rheumatoid arthritis were considered for this study. Methods: Published databases: Pub-Med, Science direct and Google scholar, were searched using terms “periodontitis”, “rheumatoid arthritis” and “Sub-Saharan Africa” to generate a set of putative studies. Articles with data on both rheumatoid arthritis and periodontitis compared to controls were selected. Studies on the association of periodontitis with cardiovascular disease, arthritis or rheumatoid arthritis alone were excluded. Data were extracted, critically appraised, and analyzed using a random-effect Mantel-Haenszel meta-analysis on plaque index, gingival index, pocket depth and clinical attachment loss. Results: Three publications were selected for the systematic review and 2 for the meta-analysis. Two studies were from Sudan, and one was from Burina Faso. There was a significant increase in pocket depth (mean difference: 0.31;95% CI: 0.21, 0.41;N = 274;(p ≤ 0.001)) and clinical attachment loss (mean difference: 0.47;95% CI: 0.22, 0.75;N = 274;(p ≤ 0.001)) in participants with rheumatoid arthritis compared to normal controls. Conclusion: Findings from these combined studies show a significant relationship between periodontal disease and rheumatoid arthritis with increased periodontal pocket depth and clinical attachment loss. They also highlight the need for additional work especially in the area of associating rheumatoid arthritis with P. gingivalis, the oral microbiome and treating periodontal diseases to help in the management of rheumatoid arthritis.

From Reads to Insights: Integrative Pipelines for Biological Interpretation of ATAC-seq Data

Underlying the regulation of mammalian gene expression at the level of transcription is the structure and modifications of chromatin. Understanding the twisting structures of DNA wrapped around histones and their higher-level ordering allows us to peek into a vast regulatory landscape.

Population-scale genetic control of alternative polyadenylation and its association with human diseases

Background:Genome-wide association studies(GWAS)have identified thousands of genomic non-coding variants statistically associated with many human traits and diseases,including cancer.However,the functional interpretation of these non-coding variants remains a significant challenge in the post-GWAS era.Alternative polyadenylation(APA)plays an essential role in post-transcriptional regulation for most human genes.By employing different poly(A)sites,genes can either shorten or extend the 3'-UTRs that contain cu-regulatory elements such as miRNAs or RNA-binding protein binding sites.Therefore,APA can affect the mRNA stability,translation,and cellular localization of proteins.Population-scale studies have revealed many inherited genetic variants that potentially impact APA to further influence disease susceptibility and phenotypic diversity,but systematic computational investigations to delineate the connections are in their earliest states.Results:Here,we discuss the evolving definitions of the genetic basis of APA and the modern genomics tools to identify,characterize,and validate the genetic influences of APA events in human populations.We also explore the emerging and surprisingly complex molecular mechanisms that regulate APA and summarize the genetic control of APA that is associated with complex human diseases and traits.Conclusion:APA is an intermediate molecular phenotype that can translate human common non-coding variants to individual phenotypic variability and disease susceptibility.