Background: Vitamin D is not only an essential part of a healthy diet but it is also known as the sunshine hormone. It helps to absorb calcium and phosphate within the body and is essential for the development of teeth and bones in growing children. Deficiency in vitamin D causes weak bones, osteoporosis in older individuals, and osteomalacia in children. It also causes loss of alveolar bone around the teeth, increased dental cavities, and other problems associated with gum disease. It can cause depression, fatigue, and appetite loss. This study aims to observe vitamin D deficiency, insufficiency, and sufficiency among children, adults, adolescents, and elders in the Pakistani population. Methods: A cross-sectional survey was conducted with 27,880 individuals referred from the general out-patient-department (OPD) to Dow Diagnostic Research and Reference Laboratory (DDRRL) units at Dow University of Health Sciences (DUHS) Karachi, Pakistan, for a period of three months from January to March 2017. They were examined for laboratory findings of serum 25 hydroxyvitamin D levels to determine vitamin D deficiency, insufficiency, and sufficiency among all age groups of both male and female genders. Results: A total of 26,750 individuals with a mean age of 38 ± 18 years were statistically examined for laboratory findings of serum vitamin D levels. Vitamin D deficiency was observed in 56% of individuals with a mean log of 1.01 ± 0.18 ng/ml serum vitamin D levels, vitamin D insufficiency in 20% of individuals with a mean log of 1.38 ± 0.05 ng/ml serum vitamin D levels and vitamin D sufficiency in 24% individuals with a mean log of 1.63 ± 0.12 ng/ml serum vitamin D levels. The highest percentage of individuals deficient in vitamin D were children and adolescents of age ranging between 6 to 18 years. Conclusion: The findings of vitamin D deficiency in children and adolescents direct higher authorities in the public health sector to take immediate steps to screen, intervene and educate high-risk populations incorporating vitamin D supplements to establish preventive and therapeutic measures.

Background: Dentin hypersensitivity (DH) is a sharp toothache that influences a patients' oral health-related quality of life. Oral dentifrices have been marketed for pain relief within a minute for DH. The permanent management of DH is being investigated with the remineralisation potential of bioactive agents in dentinal tubules. This study investigated the relief from pain in DH in one minute after applying over the counter (OTC) dentifrices with Pro-Argin™ and strontium acetate and directly compared them with fluoro-calcium phospho-silicate (FCPS)-based dentifrices for immediate and sustained inhibition of painful stimulus provoking DH.Methods: A randomised, controlled, triple-blinded clinical trial was conducted with 140 participants clinically diagnosed with DH and equally randomized into four groups with parallel treatment assignment of FCPS, Pro-Argin™, 8% strontium acetate, and sodium fluoride-based OTC dentifrices, and tested for DH with air blast, mechanical, and water jet stimuli on SCHIFF cold air sensitivity scale (SCASS) and visual analogue scale (VAS) at interim efficacy intervals of one minute, three days, two, four, and six weeks, subsequently.Results: A total of 128 participants completed the trial. All the treatment groups showed statistically significant improvement in DH withp < 0.001 relative to baseline at all time points. Pro-Argin™ showed a greater reduction in DH with mean scores of (1.34 ± 0.68) (4.20 ± 1.70) (3.05 ± 2.17) followed by strontium acetate (1.57 ± 0.81) (4.65 ± 1.87) (3.75 ± 1.97) on SCASS and VAS for mechanical and water jet stimuli, one minute after application. There was no statistically significant treatment difference between the two (p = 0.499). FCPS showed the highest reduction in DH on SCASS and VAS for waterjet stimuli with mean scores of (0.97 ± 0.68) (1.80 ± 1.73) and Pro-Argin™ on VAS for mechanical stimuli with mean scores of (2.15 ± 1.92) in six weeks.Conclusion: OTC dentifrices with Pro-argin™ and strontium acetate are effective for immediate pain relief from DH, and FCPS could be the best possible treatment option for long term management of DH.Trial registration: ID: NCT04249336 (https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT04249336), Date of Registration: January 30, 2020 (Retrospectively registered).

CD8 + tissue-resident memory T lymphocytes (TRM) are a subset of tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes (TILs) that mediate innate immunity. Clinically, they can prevent tumor development, growth and metastasis and play a potential role in immunosurveillance and long-term immunity in head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC). This systematic review and meta-analysis aimed to assess the prognostic significance of CD8 + TRM cells, identified by key immunophenotypic markers CD103, CD69, and CD49a linked to patient outcomes such as overall survival (OS) in HNSCC and its specified subcategory, OSCC. PubMed, Scopus, and Web of Science databases were searched systematically to include original research articles comprising cross-sectional, observational, experimental studies, and clinical trials. The characteristics of the studies were recorded for years of publication, research design, cancer types, HPV status, staging, diagnostic assays, immunophenotypic markers, and immune response regulators. Hazard ratios (HR) with confidence intervals (CI) and p-values were extracted for observing the association between CD103, CD69, and/or CD49a exhibiting CD8 + cytotoxic T lymphocytes with tissue-resident memory potential. The proportion of CD8 + TRM cells co-expressing CD103, CD69, and/or CD49a was estimated by extracting the actual percentage of expression in TME from graphical presentation of data in included studies. Among the 276 studies, 11 studies were included by reviewing the abstract or title and full-text articles. The findings of these studies demonstrated a strong association between CD8 + TRM cells, characterized by the expression of CD103, CD69, or CD49a and improved OS in patients with HNSCC, and its subtype, OSCC. Notably, similar trends were observed within the included studies relative to oropharyngeal squamous cell carcinomas (OPSCC), another recognized subtype of HNSCC. The pooled HR was 0.49 (95% CI: 0.23–1.02, p < 0.001), indicating a potential prognostic benefit of CD8 + TRM cell infiltration in HNSCC and related subtypes of OSCC and OPSCC. However, the overall pooled findings at aggregate cancer incidences were not statistically significant (p > 0.05). Increased infiltration of CD8 + TRM cells expressing CD103, CD69, and/or CD49a is associated with better prognosis and OS in HNSCC and its subtype, OSCC. This systematic review and meta-analysis were registered in the international database of systematic review protocols at https://www.crd.york.ac.uk/prospero/ under protocol identifier: CRD42024570177.

Background The spatial organization of immune checkpoint, metabolic, and cytokine effector markers within the oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) tumor microenvironment remains uncharacterized. TIGIT, CD39, TNF-α, and IFN-γ were selected to capture complementary arms of immune regulation, checkpoint inhibition, metabolic suppression, and cytokine effector function, whose spatial interplay may influence clinical outcomes. This study investigated their compartment-specific expression and prognostic significance in OSCC tumor tissues and peritumoral stroma. Methods Eighty OSCC cases were evaluated. Immunohistochemical expressions of TIGIT, CD39, TNF-α, and IFN-γ markers were assessed separately in tumor compartment and peritumoral stroma. Associations with overall survival were examined using chi-square or Fisher’s exact tests and TNM stage-adjusted Cox regression. Results CD39, TIGIT, and TNF-α showed predominantly intermediate-to-high expression in peritumoral stroma, with descriptively different patterns across compartments. TIGIT positivity was associated with lower mortality hazard in both compartments (tumor: HR = 0.29; stroma: HR = 0.21). IFN-γ positivity was associated with lower mortality hazard in stroma (HR = 0.49), while no significant association was observed in tumor (HR = 0.85). Conclusions TIGIT and IFN-γ are associated with improved survival in OSCC, with TIGIT showing consistent associations across compartments and IFN-γ demonstrating stromal specificity. These findings suggest that tissue compartment may influence the prognostic relevance of immune biomarkers and may support future compartment-aware approaches to risk stratification and immune profiling. Validation in larger, independent cohorts is warranted.

Oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) is a major malignancy in South Asia, driven by betel nut/tobacco use, with 5-year survival near 50-60% and frequent recurrences reflecting its aggressive biology. Although tissue resident memory (TRM) T cells mediate innate immunity, their spatial organization and associated regulatory role of cytokine, interleukin-15 (IL-15) in the OSCC tissues and their microenvironment remain unclear.This study aimed to map CD4⁺ and CD8⁺ T lymphocytes, and TRM markers (CD103, CD49a, CD69) across tumor and stromal compartments, to assess the regulatory role of IL-15 and CD103 associated epithelial E-cadherin interactions and build a multivariate prognostic model.Method Eighty OSCC cases confirmed by histopathological examination. Formalin-fixed, paraffin-embedded tumor tissues (~ 1 g) from surgical resections underwent immunohistochemistry. Whole-slide digital imaging (×40) quantified CD4⁺ and CD8⁺ T lymphocytes, and TRM markers across tumor and stromal fields. Staining intensity and percent scores were generated as a composite score (0-3). Inter-observer reliability (Kendall's τ ≥ 0.7) was verified. Associations were tested using χ²/Fisher's exact, while survival was analyzed by Kaplan-Meier and Cox regression (HR, 95% CI).Results Immune and epithelial marker expression varied significantly across tumor and stromal compartments (p < 0.001). Advanced tumor stage predicted poor survival (p = 0.044). Retained E-cadherin correlated with improved survival (p = 0.027), while CD49a expression was associated with adverse outcomes (p = 0.006). Multivariate Cox regression identified CD103 (Adj.HR 2.02, 95% CI 1.03-3.96) and E-cadherin (Adj.HR 3.01, 95% CI 1.25-7.23) as independent adverse predictors, whereas stromal CD8 (HR 0.35, 95% CI 0.14-0.99) and CD49a (HR 0.37, 95% CI 0.14-0.98) were protective. High IL-15 expression showed a positive association with CD103⁺ TRM T cell infiltration, particularly within the stromal compartment, although the association did not reach statistical significance (p = 0.076).Conclusion The spatial interplay among IL-15 expression, CD103⁺ immune infiltration, and the localization of TRM-associated markers suggests the presence of an integrated immune-epithelial axis associated with OSCC progression and may provide prognostic and therapeutic insights.