Investigating the Therapeutics Effects of Oral Cavity Derived Stem Cells on Neurodegenerative Diseases: A Systematic Review.

Introduction: Published data obtained from in vitro and in vivo studies was reviewed systematically and analyzed critically to evaluate the effect of oral cavity-derived stem cells (OCDSCs) on the recovery or therapy of neurodegenerative diseases (NDs), such as Alzheimer disease (AD), amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), Huntington (HD) diseases, and Parkinson disease (PD). Methods: An electronic search was accomplished. References of included articles were also manually searched. Studies were critically evaluated for suitability against the inclusion/exclusion criteria and the data was extracted. Bias risk evaluation of the studies and evidence synthesis were conducted. Results: A total of 14 in vivo and 10 in vitro studies met the inclusion criteria. PD was induced in 10 in vivo and 7 in vitro studies, while AD was induced in 2 in vivo and 4 in vitro studies. Two studies (1 in vitro and 1 in vivo) evaluated ALS disease and 1 in vivo study evaluated HD. Moderate evidence was found for in vitro studies reporting the positive effect of OCDSCs on PD or AD recovery. Strong evidence was found for in vivo studies in which PD animal models were used; meanwhile, moderate evidence was found for the impact of OCDSCs on AD recovery. Limited evidence was found for in vivo studies evaluating HD and ALS. Conclusion: Although studies reported favorable data regarding the OCDSCs on NDs, they presented a considerable risk of bias. Because of heterogeneous study characteristics, the current study recommends improving standardized methods to evaluate the therapeutic effects of OCDSCs on the NDs.

A living material platform for the biomineralization of biosilica.

Nature has a vast array of biomineralization mechanisms. The commonly shared mechanism by many living organisms to form hardened tissues is the nucleation of mineral structures via proteins. Living materials, thanks to synthetic biology, are providing many opportunities to program cells for many functionalities. Here we have demonstrated a living material system for biosilicification. Silaffins are utilized to synthesize silicified cell walls by one of the most abundant organism groups called diatoms. The R5 peptide motif of the silaffins is known for its ability to precipitate silica in ambient conditions. Therefore, various studies have been conducted to implement the silicification activity of R5 in different application areas, such as regenerative medicine and tissue engineering. However, laborious protein purification steps are required prior to silica nanoparticle production in recombinant approaches. In this study, we aimed to engineer an alternative bacterial platform to achieve silicification using released and bacteria-intact forms of R5-attached fluorescent proteins (FP). Hence, we displayed R5-FP hybrids on the cell surface of E. coli via antigen 43 (Ag43) autotransporter system and managed to demonstrate heat-controllable release from the surface. We also showed that the bacteria cells displaying R5-FP can be used in silicification reactions. Lastly, considering the stimulating effect of silica on osteogenic differentiation, we treated human dental pulp stem cells (hDPSCs) with the silica aggregates formed via R5-FP hybrids. Earlier calcium crystal deposition around the hDPSCs was observed. We envision that our platform can serve as a faster and more economical alternative for biosilicification applications, including endodontics.

Odonto/Osteogenic Differentiation of Dental Pulp Stem Cells of Type 1 Diabetic Patients with Mineral Trioxide Aggregate/1α,25-Dihydroxyvitamin D3 Combination.

INTRODUCTION: Vitamin D3 plays an important role in the mineralization mechanism and is often deficient in diabetic patients. The objective of this study was to investigate the odonto/osteogenic differentiation potential of the combination of mineral trioxide aggregate (MTA)/1α,25-dihydroxyvitamin D3 (VD3) on dental pulp stem cells (DPSCs) of patients with type 1 diabetes mellitus (T1DM). METHODS: DPSCs isolated from donors (control and T1DM) were cultured and characterized. Cell proliferation and wound healing assays were performed. DPSCs were exposed to 4 different media: growth medium (Dulbecco's modified Eagle's medium, 10% fetal bovine serum, antibiotic, and antimycotic), differentiation medium (DM) (growth medium plus ß-glycerophosphate and ascorbic acid), DM + MTA (DM plus 0.02 mg/mL MTA), and DM + MTA + VD3 (DM + MTA and 10 nmol/L vitamin D3). Odonto/osteogenic differentiation of DPSCs was evaluated by the alizarin red test, relative real-time polymerase chain reaction (dentin sialophosphoprotein, dentin matrix protein 1, collagen type 1 alpha 1, and osteocalcin), immunocytochemistry (antibone sialoprotein II, anti-dentin matrix protein 1, and anti-collagen type 1 alpha 1), and Western blot (dentin matrix protein 1 and osteocalcin) methods. RESULTS: The proliferation rates of DPSCs isolated from controls were significantly higher than DPSCs isolated from T1DM in a time-dependent manner (P < .05). Alizarin red staining and the expression of odonto/osteogenic markers showed that odonto/osteogenic differentiation was more pronounced in controls (P < .05) compared with T1DM patients. Although DM + MTA caused the odonto/osteogenic differentiation in DPSCs derived from controls, DM + MTA + VD3 resulted in the odonto/osteogenic differentiation in DPSCs of T1DM patients (P < .05). CONCLUSIONS: Odonto/osteogenic differentiation was affected by both supplements used for differentiation and the systemic disease, diabetes mellitus. The differentiation potential of T1DM-derived DPSCs was clearly increased with the VD3 supplement, although it was not as efficient as in the controls. The VD3 supplement showed a positive effect on the differentiation of T1DM DPSCs compared with MTA alone.

Chanarin-dorfman syndrome with multi-system involvement in two siblings.

UNLABELLED: Chanarin-Dorfman syndrome (CDS) is a very rare autosomal recessive inherited neutral lipid metabolism disorder associated with congenital ichthyosis and multi-system involvement. Observation of lipid vacuoles in neutrophils (Jordan's anomaly) in peripheral blood smears in patients with ichthyosiform erythroderma is diagnostic. Herein we present 2 siblings with CDS that were referred to Dokuz Eylul University School of Medicine Department of Pediatrics due to ichthyosis. They had hepatomegaly, cataract, growth retardation, and sensorineural hearing loss. Some lipid vacuoles in neutrophils were noted in peripheral blood smear evaluation. Genetic analysis showed homozygous N209X mutation in both patients. They were put on a low-fat high-carbohydrate diet supplemented with medium-chain fatty acids. During 6 months of follow-up, no improvement was observed in both patients. In conclusion, although CDS is a rare lipid storage disease, it should always be a consideration in patients with congenital ichthyosis, especially those with extracutaneous symptoms or signs. The diagnosis of CDS is made based on a very simple test-peripheral blood smear. CONFLICT OF INTEREST: None declared.