Fiber-reinforced Composite as Oral Implant Material. Experimental studies of glass fiber and bioactive glass in vitro and in vivo

Fiber-reinforced composite as oral implant material: Experimental studies of glass fiber and bioactive glass in vitro and in vivo Department of Prosthetic Dentistry and Biomaterials Science, Institute of Dentistry, University of Turku, Turku, Finland 2008. Biocompatibility and mechanical properties are important variables that need to be determined when new materials are considered for medical implants. Special emphasis was placed on these characteristics in the present work, which aimed to investigate the potential of fiber-reinforced composite (FRC) material as an oral implant. Furthermore, the purpose of this study was to explore the effect of bioactive glass (BAG) on osseointegration of FRC implants. The biocompatibility and mechanical properties of FRC implants were studied both in vitro and in vivo. The mechanical properties of the bulk FRC implant were tested with a cantilever bending test, torsional test and push-out test. The biocompatibility was first evaluated with osteoblast cells cultured on FRC substrates. Bone bonding was determined with the mechanical push-out test and histological as well as histomorplanimetric evaluation. Implant surface was characterized with SEM and EDS analysis. The results of these studies showed that FRC implants can withstand the static load values comparably to titanium. Threaded FRC implants had significantly higher push-out strength than the threaded titanium implants. Cell culture study revealed no cytotoxic effect of FRC materials on the osteoblast-like-cells. Addition of BAG particles enhanced cell proliferation and mineralization of the FRC substrates The in vivo study showed that FRC implants can withstand static loading until failure without fracture. The results also suggest that the FRC implant is biocompatible in bone. The biological behavior of FRC was comparable to that of titanium after 4 and 12 weeks of implantation. Furthermore, addition of BAG to FRC implant increases peri-implant osteogenesis and bone maturation.

The Roots of Neurofibromas in Neurofibromatosis 1 — A Question of Multipotency, Differentiation and Hiding

Neurofibromatosis type 1 (NF1) is an autosomal dominant cancer predisposition syndrome that affects about 1 in 3500 individuals worldwide. NF1 is caused by mutations in the NF1 gene that encodes the tumor suppressor protein neurofibromin, an inactivator of the Ras oncogene. The hallmarks of NF1 include pigmentary lesions of the skin, Lisch nodules of the iris and cutaneous neurofibromas. Cutaneous neurofibromas are benign tumors composed of all the cell types of normal peripheral nerve. The traditional view of neurofibroma development has been that cutaneous neurofibromas arise from the disruption of the small nerve tributaries of the skin and subsequent proliferation of the resident cells. The second hit mutation in the NF1 gene has been considered as a prerequisite for neurofibroma development. The second hit is detectable in a subpopulation of primary Schwann cells cultured from neurofibromas. This thesis challenges the traditional concept of neurofibroma development. The results show that cutaneous neurofibromas are intimately associated with hair follicular structures and contain multipotent precursor cells (NFPs), suggesting that neurofibromas may arise from the multipotent cells which reside in hair follicles. Furthermore, this study presents that neurofibroma-derived Schwann cells that harbor bi-allelic inactivation in the NF1 gene express HLA class II genes and may act as nonprofessional antigen presenting cells. The CD4- and FoxP3-positive cells detected in cutaneous neurofibromas suggest that these cells may represent regulatory T cells (Tregs) which interact with HLA II –positive cells and aid the tumor cells in hiding from the immune system and are thus mediators of immune tolerance. This thesis also investigated neurofibroma development in the oral cavity and the use of different biomarkers to characterize cellular differentiation in neurofibromas. The results revealed that oral neurofibromas are not rare, but they usually appear as solitary lesions contrary to multiple cutaneous neurofibromas and present high heterogeneity within and between tumors. The use of class III beta-tubulin as a marker for neuronal differentiation led to an unexpected finding showing that multiple cell types express class III beta-tubulin during mitosis. The increased understanding of the multipotency of tumor cells, cellular differentiation and ability to hide from immune system will aid in the development of future treatments. Specifically, targeting Tregs in NF1 patients could provide a novel therapeutic approach to interfere with the development of neurofibromas.

Effect of glycine and alanine supplementation on development of cattle embryo cultured in CR1aa medium with or without cumulus cells

Selostus: Glysiinin ja alaniinin vaikutus CR1aa-liuoksessa viljeltyyn kumulussolullisen ja -soluttoman naudanalkion kehitykseen