VEGF Pathway Gene Expression Profile of Proliferating versus Involuting Infantile Hemangiomas: Preliminary Evidence and Review of the Literature

Background. Infantile hemangiomas may have unexpected behavior. Initial regression (spontaneously or drug-induced) may be followed by unexplained recurrences. At this moment, there are no well-established criteria to predict infantile hemangioma reccurrences. Methods. We compared the VEGF pathway gene expression profile for one case of involuting infantile hemangioma versus one case of recurrent proliferative infantile hemangioma using TaqMan Array. Results. We found ten genes upregulated for both involuting and recurrent proliferative hemangiomas: ACTB, KRAS, MAP2K1, HRAS, NOS3, BAD, HSPB1, HPRT1, GUSB, and CASP9. Thirteen genes were downregulated for both involuting and proliferative hemangiomas: FIGF, ACTG1, GRB2, MAPKAPK2, ACTG2, MAP2K2, MAPK3, HSP90AA1, MAP2K6, NRAS, ACTA1, KDR, and MAPK1. Three genes showed divergent expression between proliferating and involuting hemangiomas. Proliferating hemangioma had MAPK14 and AKT1 gene upregulation and ACTA2 downregulation. Involuting infantile hemangioma was characterized by ACTA2 upregulation and AKT1 and MAPK14 downregulation. Conclusions. Three genes, AKT1, p38/MAPK14, and ACTA2, were found to have divergent expression in proliferating and involuting infantile hemangiomas. Excepting AKT1, which was mentioned in the last ISSVA classification (strictly related to Proteus Syndrome), none of the other genes were reported. An accurate gene expression profile mapping of infantile hemangiomas together with a gene expression-based hemangioma classification is stringently needed

COMPARISON OF THE FRACTURE RESISTANCE OF ENDODONTICALLY TREATED TEETH RESTORED WITH DIRECT COMPOSITE RESTORATIONS VERSUS ENDOCROWNS- AN IN VITRO STUDY

Aim of the study The aim of the present study was to evaluate the compression resistance of endodontically treated teeth (ETT) restored by using two methods, direct composite restorations and indirect CAD/CAM endocrowns. Material and methods Endodontic treatment were performed on 10 extracted human teeth. After its completion, 5 teeth (Group 1) were restored with Tetric Ceram (Ivoclar Vivadent) composite direct restorations, and 5 with digitally scanned, designed, and milled TetricCAD (Ivoclar Vivadent) composite endocrowns (Group 2) adhesively cemented. Teeth were mechanically tested at compression with the help of a testing machine with an increasing force applied until samples’ fracture. The value of the force was registered for each sample, the means were calculated for each group and a statistical comparison analysis between groups was made. Results The fracture force applied on endocrowns was almost double than the one necessitated for the fracture of teeth restored with direct composite. Conclusions Endocrowns could be recommended as a solution for the restoration of ETT with significant loss of tooth structure due to their increased mechanical resistance