Dental and Orofacial Mesenchymal Stem Cells in Craniofacial Regeneration: a Prosthodontist’s Point of View

Of the available regenerative treatment options, craniofacial tissue regeneration using mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) shows promise. The ability of stem cells to produce multiple specialized cell types along with their extensive distribution in many adult tissues have made them an attractive target for applications in tissue engineering. MSCs reside in a wide spectrum of postnatal tissue types and have been successfully isolated from orofacial tissues. These dental-or orofacial-derived MSCs possess self-renewal and multilineage differentiation capacities. The craniofacial system is composed of complex hard and soft tissues derived from sophisticated processes starting with embryonic development. Because of the complexity of the craniofacial tissues, the application of stem cells presents challenges in terms of the size, shape, and form of the engineered structures, the specialized final developed cells, and the modulation of timely blood supply while limiting inflammatory and immunological responses. The cell delivery vehicle has an important role in the in vivo performance of stem cells and could dictate the success of the regenerative therapy. Among the available hydrogel biomaterials for cell encapsulation, alginate-based hydrogels have shown promising results in biomedical applications. Alginate scaffolds encapsulating MSCs can provide a suitable microenvironment for cell viability and differentiation for tissue regeneration applications. This review aims to summarize current applications of dental-derived stem cell therapy and highlight the use of alginate-based hydrogels for applications in craniofacial tissue engineering

Anti-tumour activity of bisphosphonates in preclinical models of breast cancer

There is increasing evidence of anti-tumour effects of bisphosphonates from pre-clinical studies, supporting a role for these drugs beyond their traditional use in treatment of cancer-induced bone disease. A range of model systems have been used to investigate the effects of different bisphosphonates on tumour growth, both in bone and at peripheral sites. Most of these studies conclude that bisphosphonates cause a reduction in tumour burden, but that early intervention and the use of high and/or repeated dosing is required. Successful eradication of cancer may only be achievable by targeting the tumour cells directly whilst also modifying the tumour microenvironment. In line with this, bisphosphonates are demonstrated to be particularly effective at reducing breast tumour growth when used in combination with agents that directly target cancer cells. Recent studies have shown that the effects of bisphosphonates on breast tumours are not limited to bone, and that prolonged anti-tumour effects may be achieved following their inclusion in combination therapy. This has opened the field to a new strand of bisphosphonate research, focussed on elucidating their effects on cells and components of the local, regional and distal tumour microenvironment. This review highlights the recent developments in relation to proposed anti-tumour effects of bisphosphonates reported from in vitro and in vivo models, and summarises the data from key breast cancer studies. Evidence for effects on different processes and cell types involved in cancer development and progression is discussed, and the main outstanding issues identified

Task force on design and analysis in oral health research: Medication-related osteonecrosis of the jaw

© International & American Associations for Dental Research 2018. Knowledge Transfer Statement: This article discusses the proceedings of the conference organized by the Task Force on Design and Analysis in Oral Health Research on the understanding of the translational evidence on the etiology and pathogenesis of medication-related osteonecrosis of the jaw as well as the clinical protocols on patient management