Court decisions in criminal proceedings for dental malpractice in Taiwan.

Background/purpose: Malpractice claims place heavy economic and emotional burdens on both dentists and patients. Recently, medical malpractice lawsuits are decreasing in prevalence but increasing in severity. The percentage of dental malpractice payments is also growing among the health profession.

HDAC2 promotes cell migration/invasion abilities through HIF-1α stabilization in human oral squamous cell carcinoma.

Background: Histone deacetylase 2 (HDAC2) expressions in oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) had been implicated in advanced stage and poor prognosis. It suggests a possible link between the migration/invasion potential of oral cancer cells and the prevalent expression of HDAC2.

Methods: Five head and neck cancer (HNC) cell lines, including Ca9-22, Cal-27, HSC-3, SAS, and TW2.

Polyethylenimine-mediated PUMA gene delivery to orthotopic oral cancer: suppression of tumor growth through apoptosis induction in situ and prolonged survival.

Background: PUMA (a p53 up-regulated modulator of apoptosis) is induced by p53 tumor suppressor and other apoptotic stimuli. It was found to be a principal mediator of cell death in response to diverse apoptotic signals, implicating PUMA as a likely tumor suppressor.

Methods: In this study, we examined the efficacy of targeted PUMA gene therapy in human oral cancer (SAS) cells using polyethylenimine (PEI)-mediated transfection for gene delivery.

Essential roles of caspases and their upstream regulators in rotenone-induced apoptosis.

In the present study, we examined whether caspases and their upstream regulators are involved in rotenone-induced cytotoxicity. Rotenone significantly inhibited the proliferation of oral cancer cell lines in a dose-dependent manner compared to normal oral mucosal fibroblasts. Flow cytometric analysis of DNA content showed that rotenone treatment induced apoptosis following G2/M arrest.

Immunohistochemical analysis of Th1/Th2 cytokine profiles and androgen receptor expression in the pathogenesis of nifedipine-induced gingival overgrowth.

Background: Numerous studies have demonstrated that gingival overgrowth may be associated with androgen and cytokine expression in tissues.

Objectives: The aim of this study was to compare the expression of androgen receptor-presenting cells (AR+ cells) and Th1/Th2 cytokine [Th1: interleukin (IL)-2, interferon-gamma (IFN-gamma); Th2: IL-4, IL-10, IL-13] expression cells in tissue sections of patients with gingival overgrowth.

Materials And Methods: Tissue samples were collected from patients with healthy periodontium (H group), adult periodontitis (P group), surgically extracted teeth (S group), and nifedipine-induced gingival overgrowth (NIGO group).