Mutations in the gene encoding the transient receptor potential vanilloid member 4 (TRPV4), a Ca permeable nonselective cation channel, cause TRPV4-related disorders. TRPV4 is widely expressed in the brain; however, the pathogenesis underlying TRPV4-mediated Ca deregulation in neurodevelopment remains unresolved and an effective therapeutic strategy remains to be established. These issues were addressed by isolating mutant dental pulp stem cells from a tooth donated by a child diagnosed with metatropic dysplasia with neurodevelopmental comorbidities caused by a gain-of-function TRPV4 mutation, c.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFMelatonin entrainment of suprachiasmatic nucleus-regulating circadian rhythms is mediated by MT1 and MT2 receptors. Melatonin also has neuroprotective and mitochondrial activating effects, suggesting it may affect neurodevelopment. We studied melatonin's pharmacological effects on autism spectrum disorder (ASD) neuropathology.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFNihon Hoshasen Gijutsu Gakkai Zasshi
November 2023
Recently, mammography systems equipped with digital breast tomosynthesis (DBT) have become widely used in Japan. Therefore, it is urgently necessary to establish a quality control method for DBTs. So far, we have been studying acceptance tests for DBTs with reference to EUREF.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFNihon Hoshasen Gijutsu Gakkai Zasshi
December 2022
Mitochondrial fission factor (MFF) is an adapter that targets dynamin-related protein 1 from the cytosol to the mitochondria for fission. Loss-of-function MFF mutations cause encephalopathy due to defective mitochondrial and peroxisomal fission 2 (EMPF2). To elucidate the molecular mechanisms that were involved, we analyzed the functional effects of MFF depletion in deciduous teeth-derived dental pulp stem cells differentiating into dopaminergic neurons (DNs).
View Article and Find Full Text PDFDown syndrome (DS) is one of the common genetic disorders caused by the trisomy of human chromosome 21 (HSA21). Mitochondrial dysfunction and redox imbalance play important roles in DS pathology, and altered dopaminergic regulation has been demonstrated in the brain of individuals with DS. However, the pathological association of these elements is not yet fully understood.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFNihon Hoshasen Gijutsu Gakkai Zasshi
May 2021
Mammography equipment attached to the digital breast tomosynthesis (DBT) system is widespread in Japan. However, there are no guidelines for quality control methods for DBT in Japan. Therefore, it is necessary to rapidly establish a performance evaluation procedure and a quality control procedure for DBT.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFTransient receptor potential vanilloid member 4 (TRPV4) is a Ca permeable nonselective cation channel, and mutations in the gene cause congenital skeletal dysplasias and peripheral neuropathies. Although TRPV4 is widely expressed in the brain, few studies have assessed the pathogenesis of mutations in the brain. We aimed to elucidate the pathological associations between a specific mutation and neurodevelopmental defects using dopaminergic neurons (DNs) differentiated from dental pulp stem cells (DPSCs).
View Article and Find Full Text PDFInt J Mol Sci
February 2021
A subpopulation of mesenchymal stem cells, developmentally derived from multipotent neural crest cells that form multiple facial tissues, resides within the dental pulp of human teeth. These stem cells show high proliferative capacity in vitro and are multipotent, including adipogenic, myogenic, osteogenic, chondrogenic, and neurogenic potential. Teeth containing viable cells are harvested via minimally invasive procedures, based on various clinical diagnoses, but then usually discarded as medical waste, indicating the relatively low ethical considerations to reuse these cells for medical applications.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFNihon Hoshasen Gijutsu Gakkai Zasshi
November 2020
The characteristics of a glucose sensor based on an ion-sensitive TiO/Ti extended gate electrode field-effect transistor (EGFET) are reported. A glucose oxidase-containing silk fibroin membrane was immobilized on a TiO/Ti surface as the bio-sensing component. This EGFET-type biosensor was estimated to be able to detect a glucose concentration as low as 0.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFMetatropic dysplasia is a congenital skeletal dysplasia characterized by severe platyspondyly, dumbbell-like deformity of long tubular bones, and progressive kyphoscoliosis with growth. It is caused by mutations in the gene , encoding the transient receptor potential vanilloid 4, which acts as a calcium channel. Many heterozygous single base mutations of this gene have been associated with the disorder, showing autosomal dominant inheritance.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFOrofacial clefts (OFCs) are among the most common congenital craniofacial malformations, including cleft lip with or without cleft palate as the core symptoms. Developmental or functional defects in neural crest cells (NCCs) that contribute to craniofacial morphogenesis are involved in OFC development. Previous studies have suggested that oxidative stress in NCCs is involved in the development of OFCs, suggesting that the anti-oxidative activity of folic acid (FA) could have protective effects.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFLeigh syndrome is a highly heterogeneous condition caused by pathological mutations in either nuclear or mitochondrial DNA regions encoding molecules involved in mitochondrial oxidative phosphorylation, in which many organs including the brain can be affected. Among these organs, a high incidence of poor bone health has been recognized in primary mitochondrial diseases including Leigh syndrome. However, the direct association between mitochondrial dysfunction and poor bone health has not been fully elucidated.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFEnzymatic antioxidant systems, mainly involving mitochondria, are critical for minimizing the harmful effects of reactive oxygen species, and these systems are enhanced by interactions with nonenzymatic antioxidant nutrients. Because fetal growth requires extensive mitochondrial respiration, pregnant women and fetuses are at high risk of exposure to excessive reactive oxygen species. The enhancement of the antioxidant system, e.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Down syndrome (DS) is a common developmental disorder resulting from the presence of an additional copy of chromosome 21. Abnormalities in dopamine signaling are suggested to be involved in cognitive dysfunction, one of the symptoms of DS, but the pathophysiological mechanism has not been fully elucidated at the cellular level. Stem cells from human exfoliated deciduous teeth (SHED) can be prepared from the dental pulp of primary teeth.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFRett syndrome is an X-linked neurodevelopmental disorder associated with psychomotor impairments, autonomic dysfunctions and autism. Patients with Rett syndrome have loss-of-function mutations in MECP2, the gene encoding methyl-CpG-binding protein 2 (MeCP2). Abnormal biogenic amine signaling and mitochondrial function have been found in patients with Rett syndrome; however, few studies have analyzed the association between these factors.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBiochem Biophys Res Commun
January 2018
Undifferentiated odontogenic epithelium and dental papilla cells differentiate into ameloblasts and odontoblasts, respectively, both of which are essential for tooth development. These differentiation processes involve dramatic functional and morphological changes of the cells. For these changes to occur, activation of mitochondrial functions, including ATP production, is extremely important.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBiochem Biophys Res Commun
November 2017
Mitochondrial diseases are the result of aberrant mitochondrial function caused by mutations in either nuclear or mitochondrial DNA. Poor bone health has recently been suggested as a symptom of mitochondrial diseases; however, a direct link between decreased mitochondrial function and poor bone health in mitochondrial disease has not been demonstrated. In this study, stem cells from human exfoliated deciduous teeth (SHED) were isolated from a child with Leigh syndrome (LS), a mitochondrial disease, and the effects of decreased mitochondrial function on poor bone health were analyzed.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFClpXP is the major protease in the mitochondrial matrix in eukaryotes, and is well conserved among species. ClpXP is composed of a proteolytic subunit, ClpP, and a chaperone-like subunit, ClpX. Although it has been proposed that ClpXP is required for the mitochondrial unfolded protein response, additional roles for ClpXP in mitochondrial biogenesis are unclear.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFStem cells from human exfoliated deciduous teeth (SHED) are isolated from the dental pulp tissue of primary teeth and can differentiate into neuronal cells. Although SHED are a desirable type of stem cells for transplantation therapy and for the study of neurological diseases, a large part of the neuronal differentiation machinery of SHED remains unclear. Recent studies have suggested that mitochondrial activity is involved in the differentiation of stem cells.
View Article and Find Full Text PDF