Reduced menthol sensitivity in a prodromal Parkinson's disease model induced by intranasal rotenone treatment.

Parkinson's disease (PD) is a neurodegenerative disorder characterized by motor symptoms, and it is associated with several prodromal non-motor symptoms, including an impaired sense of smell, taste and touch. We previously reported that bitter taste impairments occur independently of olfactory impairments in an early-stage PD animal model using short-term intranasal rotenone-treated mice. Cool temperatures also affect bitter taste perception, but it remains unclear whether or not bitter taste impairments result from an altered sensitivity for intraoral cool stimuli.

Effects of jaw movement in bimaxillary orthognathic surgery on the upper airway: Computational fluid dynamics analysis.

Maxillomandibular repositioning in orthognathic surgeries has both morphologic and functional effects. These surgeries are thought to change the pharyngeal space and cause obstructive sleep apnoea syndrome, however. The primary purpose of this study is to evaluate the effects of jaw movement in bimaxillary orthognathic surgery on airway function and to identify the morphometric factors that can predict postoperative airway function.

Three-dimensional Analysis of Factors Related to the Effective Alveolar Molding in Presurgical Infant Orthopedics: Findings From a Pilot Study.

Objective: Presurgical infant orthopedics (PIO) reduces the severity of the original cleft and burden on patients and their parents, provides better esthetics and function, and enables surgeons to achieve better surgical repair. To reduce the alveolar cleft width and to predict treatment difficulty using PIO, various measures were examined in pretreatment cast models.

Design: Retrospective case-control pilot study.

Role of reduced enamel epithelium in root resorption.

Background: The precise mechanism of root resorption in human primary teeth is unclear. However, research has suggested that the enamel organ and dental follicle of the successive (permanent) teeth are important for this process. This review focuses on the mechanism of root resorption.

Orthodontic treatment of a skeletal Class III malocclusion with severe root resorption of the maxillary anterior teeth. Autotransplantation using a 3-dimensional printed replica of the donor tooth.

This case report describes the successful orthodontic treatment of a 12-year-old girl with skeletal Class III malocclusion and severe root resorption of the maxillary anterior teeth. Ectopic eruption and mesial inclination of the bilateral maxillary canines caused severe root resorption of the right central and lateral incisors and the left lateral incisor. These 3 teeth were extracted, and traction was applied to the maxillary right and left canines toward the extracted right central incisor and left lateral incisor, respectively.

Regeneration in Experimental Alveolar Bone Defect Using Human Umbilical Cord Mesenchymal Stem Cells.

Cleft lip and palate is a congenital disorder including cleft lip, and/or cleft palate, and/or alveolar cleft, with high incidence.The alveolar cleft causes morphological and functional abnormalities. To obtain bone bridge formation and continuous structure between alveolar clefts, surgical interventions are performed from infancy to childhood.

Different Therapeutic Effects of CO and Diode Laser Irradiation on Tooth Movement-Related Pain.

Although orthodontic treatment is common, orthodontic force often induced pain. Low-level laser therapy (LLLT) has been investigated to improve therapeutic comfort. In dentistry, LLLT is mainly applied using two types of lasers, CO and diode lasers, whose biological actions are thought to be associated with wavelength (CO: 10,600 nm; diode: 808 nm).

Smad4-dependent transforming growth factor-β family signaling regulates the differentiation of dental epithelial cells in adult mouse incisors.

Teeth consist of two major tissues, enamel and dentin, which are formed during development by epithelial and mesenchymal cells, respectively. Rodent incisors are useful experimental models for studying the molecular mechanisms of tooth formation because they are simultaneously growing in not only embryos but also adults. Members of the transforming growth factor-β (TGF-β) family regulate epithelial-mesenchymal interactions through an essential coactivator, Smad4.

Recent Progress of Basic Studies of Natural Products and Their Dental Application.

The present article reviews the research progress of three major polyphenols (tannins, flavonoids and lignin carbohydrate complexes), chromone (backbone structure of flavonoids) and herbal extracts. Chemical modified chromone derivatives showed highly specific toxicity against human oral squamous cell carcinoma cell lines, with much lower toxicity against human oral keratinocytes, as compared with various anticancer drugs. QSAR analysis suggests the possible correlation between their tumor-specificity and three-dimensional molecular shape.

Effects of FKBP12 and type II BMP receptors on signal transduction by ALK2 activating mutations associated with genetic disorders.

Various substitution mutations in ALK2, a transmembrane serine/threonine kinase receptor for bone morphogenetic proteins (BMPs), have been identified in patients with genetic disorders such as fibrodysplasia ossificans progressiva (FOP), diffuse intrinsic pontine glioma (DIPG) and heart defects. In this study, we characterized the ALK2 mutants R258G, G328V and F246Y, which were identified in patients with severe FOP, DIPG and unusual hereditary skeletal dysplasia, respectively. Both R258G and G328V were gain-of-function mutations, but F246Y was equivalent to wild-type ALK2.

[Growth of maxillo-facial region and related anomalies.].

Since maxillo-facial region is quite complex, growth and developmental defect cause various anomalies. It is known that 70% of whole genetic disorders have any symptom or abnormal condition in maxilla-facial region. Cleft lip and/or palate is the most popular congenital anomaly and is seen in 0.

Orthodontic treatment-induced temporal alteration of jaw-opening reflex excitability.

The impairment of orofacial motor function during orthodontic treatment needs to be addressed, because most orthodontic patients experience pain and motor excitability would be affected by pain. In the present study, the temporal alteration of the jaw-opening reflex excitability was investigated to determine if orthodontic treatment affects orofacial motor function. The excitability of jaw-opening reflex evoked by electrical stimulation on the gingiva and recorded bilaterally in the anterior digastric muscles was evaluated at 1 (D1), 3 (D3), and 7 days (D7) after orthodontic force application to the teeth of right side; morphological features (e.

Intracortical signal processing of periodontal ligament sensations in rat.

The somatosensory information from the orofacial region, including the periodontal ligament (PDL), is processed in a manner that differs from that used for other body somatosensory information in the related cortices. It was reported that electrical stimulation to rat PDL elicited activation of the insular oral region (IOR) and the primary (S1) and secondary (S2) somatosensory cortices. However, the physiological relationship between S1 and S2/IOR is not well understood.

Heterogeneous Human Periodontal Ligament-Committed Progenitor and Stem Cell Populations Exhibit a Unique Cementogenic Property Under In Vitro and In Vivo Conditions.

An undesirable complication that arises during dental treatments is external apical-root resorption, which causes root-cementum and root-dentin loss. To induce de novo cementogenesis, stem cell therapy is required. Cementum-forming cells (cementoblasts) are known to be differentiated from periodontal-lineage mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs), which are derived from the dental follicle (DF) in developing tissues and the periodontal ligament (PDL) in adult tissues, but the periodontal-lineage MSC type that is optimal for inducing de novo cementogenesis remains unidentified, as does the method to isolate these cells from harvested tissues.

Evaluation of mechanical properties of esthetic brackets.

Plastic brackets, as well as ceramic brackets, are used in various cases since they have excellent esthetics. However, their mechanical properties remain uncertain. The purpose of this study was to determine how deformation and stress distribution in esthetic brackets differ among materials under the same wire load.

Establishment of a novel model of chondrogenesis using murine embryonic stem cells carrying fibrodysplasia ossificans progressiva-associated mutant ALK2.

Fibrodysplasia ossificans progressiva (FOP) is a genetic disorder characterized by heterotopic endochondral ossification in soft tissue. A mutation in the bone morphogenetic protein (BMP) receptor ALK2, R206H, has been identified in patients with typical FOP. In the present study, we established murine embryonic stem (ES) cells that express wild-type human ALK2 or typical mutant human ALK2 [ALK2(R206H)] under the control of the Tet-Off system.

Mutant activin-like kinase 2 in fibrodysplasia ossificans progressiva are activated via T203 by BMP type II receptors.

Fibrodysplasia ossificans progressiva (FOP) is a genetic disorder characterized by progressive heterotopic ossification in soft tissues, such as the skeletal muscles. FOP has been shown to be caused by gain-of-function mutations in activin receptor-like kinase (ALK)-2, which is a type I receptor for bone morphogenetic proteins (BMPs). In the present study, we examined the molecular mechanisms that underlie the activation of intracellular signaling by mutant ALK2.

Adaptive responses induced by 24S-hydroxycholesterol through liver X receptor pathway reduce 7-ketocholesterol-caused neuronal cell death.

Lipid peroxidation products have been known to induce cellular adaptive responses and enhance tolerance against subsequent oxidative stress through up-regulation of antioxidant compounds and enzymes. 24S-hydroxycholesterol (24SOHC) which is endogenously produced oxysterol in the brain plays an important role in maintaining brain cholesterol homeostasis. In this study, we evaluated adaptive responses induced by brain-specific oxysterol 24SOHC in human neuroblastoma SH-SY5Y cells.

Effect of angiotensin II receptor blocker on experimental periodontitis in a mouse model of Marfan syndrome.

Marfan syndrome is an autosomal dominant disease characterized by aneurysm and dilatation of the aortic root, tall stature, and ectopia lentis. These manifestations reflect excessive signaling of transforming growth factor beta (TGF-β). Moreover, cases are frequently associated with severe periodontitis, which is a chronic inflammation of the gingiva, periodontal ligament, and alveolar bone.

Low-density lipoprotein receptor deficiency causes impaired osteoclastogenesis and increased bone mass in mice because of defect in osteoclastic cell-cell fusion.

Osteoporosis is associated with both atherosclerosis and vascular calcification attributed to hyperlipidemia. However, the cellular and molecular mechanisms explaining the parallel progression of these diseases remain unclear. Here, we used low-density lipoprotein receptor knockout (LDLR(-/-)) mice to elucidate the role of LDLR in regulating the differentiation of osteoclasts, which are responsible for bone resorption.

Serum calcium-decreasing factor, caldecrin, inhibits receptor activator of NF-κB ligand (RANKL)-mediated Ca2+ signaling and actin ring formation in mature osteoclasts via suppression of Src signaling pathway.

Osteoclasts are essential for bone dynamics and calcium homeostasis. Recently, we reported that serum calcium-decreasing factor, caldecrin, which is a secretory-type serine protease isolated from the pancreas, inhibits osteoclast differentiation by suppression of NFATc1 activity regardless of its own protease activity (Hasegawa, H., Kido, S.

Dental and maxillofacial characteristics of six Japanese individuals with ectrodactyly-ectodermal dysplasia-clefting syndrome.

Objective : Ectrodactyly-ectodermal dysplasia-clefting syndrome is a congenital anomaly characterized by ectodermal dysplasia, ectrodactyly, cleft lip and palate, and lacrimal duct anomalies. Because this syndrome is frequently accompanied by a congenital lack of teeth, narrow palate, and malocclusion, comprehensive orthodontic intervention is required. Design : To highlight the specific dental and maxillofacial characteristics of ectrodactyly-ectodermal dysplasia-clefting syndrome, six Japanese individuals diagnosed with the syndrome are described here.

[Tooth and bone research using genetically modified mice].

Teeth and bone are both hard tissues and composed of hydroxyapatite. Tooth development initiates with the invasination of oral epithelium, followed by aggregation of supporting ectomesenchymal cells. From mouse study, numbers of molecules have been discovered to relate tooth development.