Yeon-Mi Yang

Quercetin inhibits α-MSH-stimulated melanogenesis in B16F10 melanoma cells.

Quercetin is known to inhibit tyrosinase activity and melanin production in melanocytes. However, several reports suggest that quercetin has different and opposite effects on melanogenesis. This study examined the precise effects of quercetin on melanogenesis using cell‐free assay systems and melanocytes. Quercetin inhibited the monophenolase and diphenolase activities of tyrosinase, and melanin synthesis in cell‐free assay systems. Quercetin induced mild stimulation of the tyrosinase activity and dihydroxyphenylalaminechrome tautomerase (TRP‐2) expression but only at low concentrations (<20 μm) in B16F10 melanoma cells. In contrast, the addition of 50 μm quercetin to the cells led to a significant decrease in the activity and synthesis of tyrosinase, as well as a decrease in the expression of tyrosinase‐related protein‐1 and TRP‐2 proteins, regardless of the presence or absence of α‐melanocyte stimulating hormone (α‐MSH). Quercetin also reduced the intracellular cAMP and the phosphorylated protein kinase A levels in α‐MSH‐stimulated B16F10 cells. Moreover, quercetin (20 μm) diminished the expression and activity of tyrosinase, and melanin content in cultured normal human epidermal melanocytes. These effects were not related to its cytotoxic action. Although the in vivo effects of quercetin are still unclear, these results suggest that quercetin could play important roles in controlling melanogenesis. Copyright

Compressive Mechanical Force Augments Osteoclastogenesis by Bone Marrow Macrophages Through Activation of c-Fms-Mediated Signaling

Little is known about the effects of mechanical forces on osteoclastogenesis by bone marrow macrophages (BMMs) in the absence of mechanosensitive cells, including osteoblasts and fibroblasts. In this study, we examined the effects of mechanical force on osteoclastogenesis by applying centrifugal force to BMMs using a horizontal microplate rotor. Our findings, as measured by an in vitro model system, show that tumor necrosis factor (TNF)‐α is capable of inducing osteoclast differentiation from BMMs and bone resorption in the presence of macrophage‐colony stimulating factor (M‐CSF) and is further facilitated by receptor activator of nuclear factor‐kappaB (NF‐κB) ligand (RANKL). Application of force to BMMs accelerated TNF‐α‐induced osteoclastogenesis; this was inhibited either by anti‐TNF‐α or anti‐TNF‐α receptor but not by OPG. TNF‐α also increased c‐Fms expression at both mRNA and protein levels in BMMs. An anti‐c‐Fms antibody completely inhibited osteoclast differentiation and bone resorption induced by TNF‐α but partially blocked osteoclastogenesis stimulated in combination with RANKL. These results suggest that TNF‐α (in the presence of M‐CSF) is capable of inducing osteoclastogenesis from BMMs, and that osteoclastogenesis is significantly stimulated by force application through the activation of c‐Fms‐mediated signaling. Overall, the present study reveals the facilitating effect of mechanical force on osteoclastic differentiation from BMMs without the addition of mechanosensitive cells. J. Cell. Biochem. 111: 1260–1269, 2010.

Survey of Sedation Practices by Pediatric Dentists

The aim of this study was to establish the appropriate guidelines in the sedation techniques and to organize the continuing education programs for the sedation in future under the direction of Committee on Sedation, Education and Research under the Korean Academy of Pediatric Dentistry(KAPD). The surveys on the sedation technique were performed on 111 organizations which practices the sedation and responded to the survey via online and e-mail by February 2014. The collected survey were analyzed. The purpose of sedation was mainly to manage the children`s behavior and its uses were primarily on 3~4 years old children. The most frequent duration of treatment was 1~2 hours to treat both maxillary and mandible. The preferred dosages of sedative drugs were chloral hydrate(CH) 50~70 mg/kg, hydorxyzine(Hx) 1~2 mg/kg, and intramuscular midazolam(Mida IM) 0.1~0.2 mg/kg. The preferred combination of the sedative drugs were CH + Hx + (67.6%), CH + Hx + Mida submucosal administration (SM) + (29.7%), and Mida IM + (23.4%). The administration of additional sedatives was carried out at 48%, mainly using Midazolam. 87.5% of the respondents experienced the adverse effects of the sedation such as vomiting/retching, agitation during recovery, subclinical respiratory depression, staggering, and etc. Among them, only 20% periodically retrain the emergency management protocol. About the discharge criteria for patients after the sedation, the respondents either showed a lack of clear criteria or did not follow the recommended discharge criteria. 86% of the respondents expressed the interests in taking a course on the sedation and they wanted to learn mostly about the sedation-related emergency management, the safe dosage of the sedative drugs, and etc. The use of sedation in pediatric dentistry must be consider a patient`s safety as top priority and each dentist must show the evidence of sound practices for the prevention of any possible medical errors. Therefore, KAPD must establish the proper sedation guidelines and it needs to provide the systematic technical training program of sedation-related emergency management for pediatric dentists.

Rapid Detection of S. Mutans Surface Antigen I/II Using a Sensitive Monoclonal Anti-Ag I/II Antibody by ELISA

The cell-surface protein antigen I/II (Ag I/II) is expressed in oral streptococci, which are known as the causative agent of a number of diseases including dental caries, endocarditis, gingivitis, and periodontal disease. Consequently, monoclonal antibodies (MAb) capable of recognizing the streptococcal Ag I/II protein could be a useful tool for the diagnosis and cure of these diseases. In this study, a previously generated monoclonal anti-Ag I/II antibody, ckAg I/II, was used to detect a small amount of Streptococcus mutans (S. mutans) surface antigen Ag I/II. The ckAg I/II was proved to be very sensitive and able to detect as little as 1 ng of recombinant Ag I/II protein within 5 min and Ag I/II in saliva within 10 min, as well as native Ag I/II in 20 μL of culture supernatant by ELISA. These results suggest that ckAg I/II can be used as a fast and efficient diagnostic tool to detect Ag I/II.

Development of a Monoclonal Antibody Against Glucosyltransferase D of Streptococcus mutans GS 5

Glucosyltransferases GtfB, GtfC, and GtfD of Streptococcus mutans are virulent factors involved in dental caries. Consequently, they are considered to be target molecules in the development of vaccines against dental caries. Among them, GtfD plays a significant role in the sucrose-dependent cellular adhesion of S. mutans, and a number of studies have suggested that the N-terminus of GtfD is an important part of its role in enzymatic activity. In this study, we generated monoclonal antibodies against the N-terminus of GtfD (anti-GtfDN antibody) in an initial attempt to investigate its preventive efficacy against dental caries. To obtain anti-GtfDN monoclonal antibodies, the gene for the N-terminus of gtfD (2 kb) was cloned into an Escherichia coli expression vector, pQE30; then the expressed protein (about 75 kDa) was purified. The purified GtfDN protein was injected into BALB/c mice, and hybridoma clones were established. We obtained three hybridoma clones (HDN9, HDN11, and HDN28) capable of producing anti-GtfDN antibodies. Their binding specificity was characterized by ELISA, dot blot, and Western blot analysis after purification using affinity column chromatography. The isotype of the monoclonal antibodies was confirmed to be IgG2a.

The Distribution and Treatment of Outpatients with General Anesthesia in Chonbuk National University Dental Hospital for 9 Years

General anesthesia (GA) for dental care in handicapped patients is necessary to facilitate the provision of safe, efficient, and effective quality treatment. The aims of this study were to determine the anesthetic characteristics of handicapped patients in need of dental treatment in these day care units, and to establish for plan to provide better services. 325 patients who had outpatient general anesthesia from January 2005 to March 2014 were assessed for this study. Patients’distribution and treatment patterns were examined. The proportion of male patients (202, 62.2%) was higher than female patients (123, 37.8%) and the largest group of patients were 5 to 10 years old (85, 26.2%). The reasons for general anesthesia included mental and physical disabilities (207, 63.7%), behavior management (84, 25.8%), parent needs (14, 4.3%), and so on. Restorative treatment was the most common procedure with the average of 4.2 teeth treated per one patient and 43 (13.2%) patients underwent general anesthesia for dental treatment more than once. To expand and improve access to the dental care of the disabled, improvement of the health care system, enhancement of their training for dental care by professionals, and enlarging caregivers’understanding of the importance of oral care in the early stages are required.

Odontogenic effects of a fast-setting calcium-silicate cement containing zirconium oxide.

A fast-setting calcium-silicate cement (Endocem) was introduced in the field of dentistry for use in vital pulp therapy. Similar to mineral trioxide aggregate (MTA), it contains bismuth oxide to provide radiopacity. Recently, another product, EndocemZr, which contains zirconium oxide (ZrO2) as a radiopacifier, was developed by the same company. In this study, the biological/odontogenic effects of EndocemZr were investigated in human primary dental pulp cells (hpDPCs) in vitro and on capped rat teeth in vivo. The biocompatibility of EndocemZr was similar to that of ProRoot and Endocem on the basis of cell viability tests and cell morphological analysis. The mineralization nodule formation, expression of odontogenic-related markers, and reparative dentin formation of EndocemZr group was similar to those of other material groups. Our results suggest that EndocemZr has the potential to be used as an effective material for vital pulp therapy, similar to ProRoot and Endocem.

PULP REVASCULARIZATION OF IMMATURE FIRST PERMANENT MOLARS WITH APICAL PERIODONTITIS : CASE REPORT

Revascularization of the pulp in a necrotic, infected immature tooth with apical periodontitis was attempting several years. Revascularization of partially necrotic pulp in an immature tooth is based on the concept that vital dental stem cells can survive pulpal necrosis. Revascularization procedure obtains longer and thicker roots in teeth with necrotic pulp diagnosis. Pulp revascularization for immature permanent molars can be possibly applied on cases having difficulty to use conventional root canal treatment due to abnormally thin root canal wall or severe root curvature. Also, when an uncooperative patient does not agree with sedative treatment the revascularization can be useful. And a patient with disability who is barely cooperative can be another indication of this treatment. In this case report, pulp revascularization using triple-antibiotics, metronidazole, ciprofloxacine and minocycline, was applied on the immature first permanent molar infected by caries.

The antibacterial activity of chlorhexidine digluconate against Streptococcus mutans biofilms follows sigmoidal patterns.

The aim of this study was to determine the pattern of the antibacterial activity of chlorhexidine digluconate (CHX) against mature Streptococcus mutans biofilms. Streptococcus mutans biofilms were formed on saliva-coated hydroxyapatite discs and then treated with 0-20% CHX, once, three times, or five times (1 min per treatment) during the period of mature biofilm formation (beyond 46 h). After the treatments, the colony-forming unit (CFU) counts of the treated biofilms were determined. The pH values of the spent culture medium were also determined to investigate the change in pH resulting from the antibacterial activity of CHX. The relationships between the concentration of CHX and the CFU counts and the concentration of CHX and culture medium pH, relative to the number of treatments performed, were evaluated using a sigmoidal curve-fitting procedure. The changes in CFU counts and culture medium pH followed sigmoidal curves and were dependent on the concentration of CHX (R2 = 0.99). The sigmoidal curves were left-shifted with increasing number of treatments. Furthermore, the culture-medium pH of the treated biofilms increased as their CFU counts decreased. The lowest CHX concentration to increase culture-medium pH above the critical pH also decreased as the number of treatments increased. These results may provide fundamental information for selecting the appropriate CHX concentrations to treat S. mutans biofilms.

Prevalence of Periodontopathogens in Saliva and Plaque of Korean Children and Adolescents

Early colonization of periodontal pathogens has been related as a risk indicator for the subsequent development of periodontal disease. Such colonization can be easily detected with mediums like saliva and plaque. This study aimed to evaluate the prevalence of the bacteria associated with periodontal disease in saliva and plaque in healthy children and adolescents. The experiment was conducted using 90 samples from subjects consisting of thirty elementary school students, thirty high school students and thirty adults. PCR was used to detect the prevalence and distribution of five periodontal pathogens in the collected saliva and plaque. The detected periodontal pathogens are as follows: A. actinomycetemcomitans, P. gingivalis, T. forsythia, F. nucleatum and P. intermedia. Periodontal pathogens were prevailed in a higher number of adolescents than the number of children. A. actinomycetemcomitans and P. intermedia were detected the most in the adolescents group. T. forsythia and F. nucleatum were detected the most in the children group. The overall result showed that saliva is more a useful medium than supragingival plaque. The detection of high risk periodontal pathogens in children and adolescents without clinical signs of periodontal disease can emphasize the importance of the early diagnosis and preventive approach.