Supra-Alveolar Bone Regeneration: Progress, Challenges, and Future Perspectives.

Periodontitis is a highly prevalent disease that damages the supporting tissues of a tooth, including the alveolar bone. Alveolar bone loss owing to periodontitis is broadly categorized as supra-alveolar and intra-alveolar bone loss. In intra-alveolar bone loss, the defect has an angular or oblique orientation to the long axis of the tooth in an apical direction.

Short-term effects of mechanical loading on the transdifferentiation of condylar chondrocytes.

Introduction: Transdifferentiation of chondrocytes into bone cells explains most of the prenatal and early postnatal condylar growth, but its role during later postnatal growth and the mechanisms regulating transdifferentiation remain unknown. This study aimed to quantify the effects of mechanical loading on chondrocyte-derived osteogenesis during late postnatal condylar growth using a short-term mandibular laterotrusion model.

Methods: Thirty 4-week-old Aggrecan-Cre, R26R, and 2.

Biomimetic Tubular Matrix Induces Periodontal Ligament Principal Fiber Formation and Inhibits Osteogenic Differentiation of Periodontal Ligament Stem Cells.

Periodontal ligament (PDL) is assembled from highly organized collagen fiber bundles (PDL principal fibers) that are crucial in supporting teeth and buffering mechanical force. Therefore, regeneration of PDL needs to reconstruct these well-ordered fiber bundles to restore PDL functions. However, the formation of PDL principal fibers has long been a challenge due to the absence of an effective three-dimensional (3D) matrix to guide the growth of periodontal ligament stem cells (PDLSCs) and to inhibit the osteogenic differentiation of PDLSCs during the PDL principal fibers deposition.

Evaluation of a peptide motif designed for protein tethering to polymer surfaces.

In search for peptide motifs that allow us to efficiently tether fusion proteins onto polymer surfaces, we designed a KLKLKLKLKL (KL5) decapeptide in which basic and hydrophobic amino acids were alternately linked. By means of genetic engineering technology together with a bacterial expression system, the KL5 fusions of epidermal growth factor (EGF), basic fibroblast growth factor, and stromal cell-derived factor-1α were prepared together with their control counterparts without KL5. The adsorption experiments were performed for these fusion proteins on the surface of polystyrene, hydrophilized polystyrene, and polycaprolactone by surface plasmon resonance analysis.

Oriented immobilization of basic fibroblast growth factor: Bioengineered surface design for the expansion of human mesenchymal stromal cells.

E. coli expressed recombinant basic fibroblast growth factor (bFGF) with histidine-tag (bFGF-His) was immobilized onto the surface of a glass plate modified with a Ni(II)-chelated alkanethiol monolayer. The immobilization is expected to take place through the coordination between Ni(II) and His-tag.

Dental caries prevalence, oral health knowledge and practice among indigenous Chepang school children of Nepal.

Background: Chepang communities are one of the most deprived ethnic communities in Nepal. According to the National Pathfinder Survey, dental caries is a highly prevalent childhood disease in Nepal. There is no data concerning the prevalence of caries along with knowledge, attitude and oral hygiene practices among Chepang schoolchildren.