Makiko Ono

Possible pharmacotherapy for nifedipine‐induced gingival overgrowth: 18α‐glycyrrhetinic acid inhibits human gingival fibroblast growth

This investigation aimed to establish the basis of a pharmacotherapy for nifedipine‐induced gingival overgrowth. Gingival overgrowth has been attributed to the enhanced growth of gingival fibroblasts. In this study, we investigated the effects of 18‐α‐glycyrrhetinic acid (18α‐GA) on growth, the cell cycle, and apoptosis and on the regulators of these processes in gingival fibroblasts isolated from patients who presented with nifedipine‐induced gingival overgrowth.

Study on Calcified Structure of Sialolith in Duct as a Key to Know How to Prevent Stone Formation

Salivary calculus is an ectopic calcification of high frequency in oral region. Many previous reports on the composition and structure of salivary calculus only showed apatite crystal as the main constitution but were not sufficient to clarify the formation mechanism. In this study, structural properties of the salivary calculus were investigated by the high-reproducibility non-destructive method such as optical microscope, micro-CT, micro-FT-IR and micro-XRD. In some cases, SEM, BSI, and EDS analysis were also carried out. The results showed that the salivary calculi were grouped into three by structure, and grouped into three or four by chemical composition and crystal components. The difference in structure and composition should be reflected by the formation mechanism.