SCF/C-Kit Signaling Induces Self-Renewal of Dental Pulp Stem Cells.

Introduction: The maintenance of a stem cell pool is imperative to enable healing processes in the dental pulp tissue throughout life. As such, knowing mechanisms underlying stem cell self-renewal is critical to understand pulp pathophysiology and pulp regeneration. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the impact of stem cell factor (SCF) signaling through its receptor tyrosine kinase (c-Kit) on the self-renewal of human dental pulp stem cells (hDPSCs).

Borrelidin Induces the Unfolded Protein Response in Oral Cancer Cells and Chop-Dependent Apoptosis.

Oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) is the most common cancer affecting the oral cavity, and US clinics will register about 30,000 new patients in 2015. Current treatment modalities include chemotherapy, surgery, and radiotherapy, which often result in astonishing disfigurement. Cancers of the head and neck display enhanced levels of glucose-regulated proteins and translation initiation factors associated with endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress and the unfolded protein response (UPR).

Different Brain Responses to Pain and Its Expectation in the Dental Chair.

A dental appointment commonly prompts fear of a painful experience, yet we have never fully understood how our brains react to the expectation of imminent tooth pain once in a dental chair. In our study, 21 patients with hypersensitive teeth were tested using nonpainful and painful stimuli in a clinical setting. Subjects were tested in a dental chair using functional near-infrared spectroscopy to measure cortical activity during a stepwise cold stimulation of a hypersensitive tooth, as well as nonpainful control stimulation on the same tooth.

The expression of periostin in dental pulp cells.

Background And Objective: Dental pulp repair is a common process triggered by microbial and mechanical challenges. Matricellular modulators, such as periostin, are key for extracellular matrix stability and tissue healing. In the scope of the dental pulp, periostin expression has been reported during development and active dentinogenesis.

White mineral trioxide aggregate induces migration and proliferation of stem cells from the apical papilla.

Introduction: Regenerative endodontic protocols recommend white mineral trioxide aggregate (WMTA) as a capping material because of its osteoinductive properties. Stem cells from the apical papilla (SCAP) are presumed to be involved in this regenerative process, but the effects of WMTA on SCAP are largely unknown. Our hypothesis was that WMTA induces proliferation and migration of SCAP.