Use of platelet concentrates in oral and maxillofacial surgery: an overview.

OBJECTIVE: To describe and provide a comprehensive overview on the development, use and efficacy of autologous platelet concentrates in different in vitro and in vivo studies focusing on oral and maxillofacial pathologies. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Present work employs an extensive critical overview of the literature on the development and application of platelet concentrates. RESULTS: Platelet concentrates are innovative endogenous therapeutic agents which gained a lot of interest in different medical and dental disciplines due to their potential ability to stimulate and increase regeneration of soft and hard tissues. The effect of platelet-derived products is considered to be a result of the high number of platelets which contain a wide range of growth factors. They are not just therapeutic products but autologous blood concentrates containing active molecules. The quality of platelet concentrates may vary according to the individual physical state of donors making it difficult to to compare the outcomes of their application. Although, there are many studies analyzing the properties of these biomaterials both in vivo and in vitro, a consensus regarding their efficacy still has to be reached. CONCLUSION: Evidences described in the literature on the efficacy of platelet concentrates in procedures in oral and maxillofacial region are controversial and limited. In order to clarify the real advantages and priorities for the patients, when the blood-derived products are applied, further in vitro and in vivo research about the activity of PRP and PRF on the dental cells biology should be conducted.

CK2 is acting upstream of MEK3/6 as a part of the signal control of ERK1/2 and p38 MAPK during keratinocytes autocrine differentiation.

Protein kinase CK2 (formerly termed "casein kinase II") is a ubiquitously in mammalian cells distributed Ser/Thr kinase, with global role in cell regulation. Although, the involvement of CK2 in cell signalling is vast-investigated, virtually nothing is known about its contribution to signal control of keratinocytes differentiation. Here we show that, in autocrine differentiating keratinocytes, inhibition of the CK2 activity induced by 4,5,6,7-tetrabromobenzotriazole (TBB) causes reciprocal changes in the activities of major signal transduction regulators of keratinocytes differentiation, i.e. ERK1/2 and p38 MAPK, without affecting their protein levels. The ERK1/2 activity is strongly suppressed, while the activity of p38 is increased. We have also found that the activity of upstream and specific for p38 MAPK kinase MEK3/6 is also stimulated by TBB. These original results clearly demonstrate the participation of CK2 in the signal transduction pathway controlling MEK3/6, p38 MAPK, and ERK1/2 in the used model system.

Effects of the CDK-inhibitor CYC202 on p38 MAPK, ERK1/2 and c-Myc activities in papillomavirus type 16 E6- and E7-transformed human keratinocytes.

In the present study, we have investigated the effect of the chemical CDK-inhibitor CYC202 on E6 and E7-transformed keratinocytes, in which the function of the cellular cell cycle inhibitor p21Cip1 is abrogated by the viral genes. The cyto-toxicity and the inhibition of the cell growth were analysed by MTT assay and analysis of DNA synthesis respectively. The effect on some signalling molecules was tested by Western blot analysis. CYC202 effectively inhibited the proliferation of E6 and E7 keratinocytes in a dose-dependent manner. Treatment with CYC202 strongly increased the activity of p38 MAP kinase. Furthermore, it inhibited ERK1/2 at the highest concentration used and had no effect on the activity of JNK1/2. CYC202 also increased the phosphorylation of HSP27 and decreased the phosphorylation and DNA-binding activity of the transcriptional regulator c-Myc, in correlation with the corresponding upstream kinases p38 MAPK and ERK1/2. Our results provide additional data for the anti-proliferative actions and potency of the chemical CDK-inhibitor CYC202.