Effects of occlusal rest design on pressure distribution beneath the denture base of a distal extension removable partial denture-an in vivo study.

This study aimed to investigate the pressure distribution beneath the denture bases of removable partial dentures (RPDs) with different occlusal rest designs (ORDs) by in vivo measurement. Four types of detachable occlusal rests (mesial and distal, distal, mesial, and nonrest) were placed on the direct abutment teeth of distal extension RPDs in four patients with free-end edentulous mandibles. Pressure measurements were obtained by using thin and flexible tactile sensors.

Roles of dentists and dental hygienists in two major earthquakes.

Background: In recent years, disasters that overwhelm the capacity of humans have been frequent. However, international cooperation has been swift as a result of advances in transportation, enabling the more prompt administration of First Aid.

Methods: We have had two opportunities to observe outcomes in oral hygiene immediately after and 10 months after two different major disasters.

Convergent genesis of an adult neural crest-like dermal stem cell from distinct developmental origins.

Skin-derived precursors (SKPs) are multipotent dermal stem cells that reside within a hair follicle niche and that share properties with embryonic neural crest precursors. Here, we have asked whether SKPs and their endogenous dermal precursors originate from the neural crest or whether, like the dermis itself, they originate from multiple developmental origins. To do this, we used two different mouse Cre lines that allow us to perform lineage tracing: Wnt1-cre, which targets cells deriving from the neural crest, and Myf5-cre, which targets cells of a somite origin.

TGF-beta mediated FGF10 signaling in cranial neural crest cells controls development of myogenic progenitor cells through tissue-tissue interactions during tongue morphogenesis.

Skeletal muscles are formed from two cell lineages, myogenic and fibroblastic. Mesoderm-derived myogenic progenitors form muscle cells whereas fibroblastic cells give rise to the supportive connective tissue of skeletal muscles, such as the tendons and perimysium. It remains unknown how myogenic and fibroblastic cell-cell interactions affect cell fate determination and the organization of skeletal muscle.

Transforming growth factor-beta regulates basal transcriptional regulatory machinery to control cell proliferation and differentiation in cranial neural crest-derived osteoprogenitor cells.

Transforming growth factor-beta (Tgf-beta) signaling is crucial for regulating craniofacial development. Loss of Tgf-beta signaling results in defects in cranial neural crest cells (CNCC), but the mechanism by which Tgf-beta signaling regulates bone formation in CNCC-derived osteogenic cells remains largely unknown. In this study, we discovered that Tgf-beta regulates the basal transcriptional regulatory machinery to control intramembranous bone development.

Epithelial-specific requirement of FGFR2 signaling during tooth and palate development.

Reciprocal interactions between epithelium and mesenchyme are crucial for embryonic development. Fibroblast growth factors (FGFs) are a growth factor family that play an important role in epithelial-mesenchymal tissue interaction. We have generated epithelial-specific conditional knockout mice targeting Fibroblast growth factor receptor 2 (Fgfr2) to investigate the function of FGF signaling during craniofacial development.

TGF-beta mediated Dlx5 signaling plays a crucial role in osteo-chondroprogenitor cell lineage determination during mandible development.

Transforming growth factor-beta (TGF-beta) signaling is crucial for mandible development. During its development, the majority of the mandible is formed through intramembranous ossification whereas the proximal region of the mandible undergoes endochondral ossification. Our previous work has shown that TGF-beta signaling is required for the proliferation of cranial neural crest (CNC)-derived ectomesenchyme in the mandibular primordium where intramembranous ossification takes place.

TGF-beta signaling and aplasia cutis congenita: proposed animal model.

TGF-beta plays a role in cell migration, proliferation, and differentiation during embryonic development. This study investigated the effect of neural crest- or mesodermspecific loss of TGF-beta type II receptor in mice. These conditional knockout mice both exhibit skin defects of the skull associated with an underlying bone defect, a phenotype consistent with the human disorder aplasia cutis congenita.

TGF-beta mediated Msx2 expression controls occipital somites-derived caudal region of skull development.

Craniofacial development involves cranial neural crest (CNC) and mesoderm-derived cells. TGF-beta signaling plays a critical role in instructing CNC cells to form the craniofacial skeleton. However, it is not known how TGF-beta signaling regulates the fate of mesoderm-derived cells during craniofacial development.

Wnt3a regulates Lef-1 expression during airway submucosal gland morphogenesis.

Regulation of the lymphoid enhancer factor 1 (Lef-1) transcription factor is important for the inductive formation of many epithelial-derived appendages including airway submucosal glands (SMGs). Although Wnts have been linked to developmental processes involving transcriptional activation of the Lef-1 protein, there is little in vivo information directly linking Wnts with the transcriptional regulation of the Lef-1 promoter. In the present study, we hypothesized that Wnt3a directly regulates Lef-1 gene expression required for SMG morphogenesis in mice.

Functional significance of Smad2 in regulating basal keratinocyte migration during wound healing.

Members of the transforming growth factor-beta (TGF-beta) superfamily are critical regulators for wound healing. Transduction of TGF-beta signaling depends on activation of Smad2 and Smad3 by heteromeric complexes of ligand-specific receptors. Mice lacking Smad3 show accelerated wound healing, whereas the biological significance of Smad2-mediated TGF-beta signaling in wound healing remains unknown.

A signaling pathway involving TGF-beta2 and snail in hair follicle morphogenesis.

In a common theme of organogenesis, certain cells within a multipotent epithelial sheet exchange signals with their neighbors and develop into a bud structure. Using hair bud morphogenesis as a paradigm, we employed mutant mouse models and cultured keratinocytes to dissect the contributions of multiple extracellular cues in orchestrating adhesion dynamics and proliferation to shape the cluster of cells involved. We found that transforming growth factor beta2 signaling is necessary to transiently induce the transcription factor Snail and activate the Ras-mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) pathway in the bud.