• International Journal of Oral Biology
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• 제44권1호
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• pp.20-26
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• 2019

Periodontal diseases have been associated with the development of cardiovascular diseases. Accumulating evidences have indicated that Porphyromonas gingivalis, a major periodontopathic pathogen, plays a critical role in the pathogenesis of atherosclerosis. In the present study, we demonstrated that P. gingivalis lipopolysaccharide (LPS) increases the mRNA and protein expression of matrix metalloproteinase-9 (MMP-9) in rat vascular smooth muscle cells. We showed that the MMP-9 expression induced by P. gingivalis LPS is mediated by the activation of signal transducer and activator of transcription 3 (STAT3) in vascular smooth muscle cells. Furthermore, the inhibition of STAT3 activity reduced P. gingivalis LPS-induced migration of vascular smooth muscle cells. Overall, our findings indicate that P. gingivalis LPS stimulates the migration of vascular smooth muscle cells via STAT3-mediated MMP-9 expression.

• The Korean Journal of Physiology and Pharmacology
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• 제10권2호
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• pp.65-69
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• 2006

The present study was undertaken to explore the role of autonomic nerves in the regulation of sodium transporters and water channels in the salivary gland. Rats were denervated of their sympathetic or parasympathetic nerves to the submandibular gland. One week later, the expression of Na,K-ATPase, epithelial sodium channels (ENaC), and aquaporins (AQP) was examined in the denervated and contralateral glands. The sympathetic denervation slightly but significantly decreased the expression of ${\alpha}1$ subunit of Na,K-ATPase, whereas the parasympathetic denervation increased it. The expression of ${\alpha}$-subunit of ENaC was significantly increased in both the denervated and contralateral glands either by the sympathetic or parasympathetic denervation. The sympathetic denervation significantly increased the expression of AQP5 in both the denervated and contralateral glands, whereas the parasympathetic denervation decreased it. It is suggested that the autonomic nerves have a tonic effect on the regulation of sodium transporters and AQP water channels in the salivary gland.

• Journal of the Korean Association of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons
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• 제50권2호
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• pp.80-85
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• 2024

Objectives: To access the knowledge of undergraduate and postgraduate students of the dental college on basic anatomy, physiology, clinical examination, and pathology of the temporomandibular joint (TMJ). Materials and Methods: A total of 610 undergraduate and postgraduate students of dental college, were included in this study. The questionnaire was pretested for validation and distributed online through Google forms. Results: A pairwise comparison showed that the percentage of correct answers for interns significantly differed from that of IV Bachelor of Dental Surgery (P=0.050) and postgraduate students (P=0.048) (below average: up to 6 correct answers, good: 7-11 correct answers, excellent: 12 or more correct answers). Conclusion: TMJ diseases are common in daily life but frequently go undiagnosed and untreated due to a lack of clinical expertise. This demonstrates the necessity of providing instructions that give students in-depth knowledge and abilities for TMJ issues in clinical practice.

• International Journal of Oral Biology
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• 제33권1호
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• pp.1-5
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• 2008

Adenosine 5'-triphosphate (ATP) is an important extracellular signaling molecule which is involved in a variety of physiological responses in many different tissues and cell types, by acting at P2 receptors, either ionotropic (P2X) or G protein-coupled metabotropic receptors (P2Y). P2X receptors have seven isoforms designated as $P2X_{1^-}P2X_7$. In this study, we investigated the electrophysiological and pharmacological properties of rat $P2X_{1^-}P2X_4$ currents by using whole-cell patch clamp technique in a heterologous expression system. When ATP-induced currents were analyzed in human embryonic kidney (HEK293) cells following transient transfection of rat $P2X_{1^-}P2X_4$, the currents showed different pharmacological and electrophysiological properties. ATP evoked inward currents with fast activation and fast desensitization in $P2X_{^1-}$ or $P2X_{3^-}$ expressing HEK293 cells, but in $P2X_{2^-}$ or $P2X_{4^-}$ expressing HEK293 cells, ATP evoked inward currents with slow activation and slow desensitization. While PPADS and suramin inhibited $P2X_2$ or $P2X_3$ receptor-mediated currents, they had little effects on $P2X_4$ receptor-mediated currents. Ivermectin potentiated and prolonged $P2X_4$ receptor-mediated currents, but did not affect $P2X_2$ or $P2X_3$ receptor-mediated currents. We suggest that distinct pharmacological and electrophysiological properties among P2X receptor subtypes would be a useful tool to determine expression patterns of P2X receptors in the nervous system including trigeminal sensory neurons and microglia.

• International Journal of Oral Biology
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• 제31권2호
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• pp.45-51
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• 2006

R-type($Ca_v2.3$) calcium channel contributes to pain sensation in peripheral sensory neurons. Six isoforms of $Ca_v2.3$ that result from combinations of presence or deletion of three inserts(insert I and insert in the II-III loop, and insert III in N-terminal regions) have been demonstrated to be present in different mammalian tissues. However, the molecular basis of $Ca_v2.3$ in trigeminal ganglion(TG) neurons is not known. In the present study, we determined which isoforms of $Ca_v2.3$ are expressed in rat TG neurons using the RT-PCR analysis. Whole tissue RT-PCR analyses revealed that only two isoforms, $Ca_v2.3a$ and $Ca_v2.3e$, were present in TG neurons. From single-cell RT-PCR, we found that $Ca_v2.3e$ rather than $Ca_v2.3a$ was the major isoform expressed in TG neurons, and $Ca_v2.3e$ was preferentially detected in small-sized neurons that express nociceptive marker, transient receptor potential vanilloid 1(TRPV1). Our results suggest that $Ca_v2.3e$ in trigeminal neurons may be a potential target for the pain treatment.

• International Journal of Oral Biology
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• 제44권3호
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• pp.71-76
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• 2019

Dentin hypersensitivity is an abrupt intense pain caused by innocuous stimuli to exposed dentinal tubules. Mechanosensitive ion channels have been assessed in dental primary afferent neurons and odontoblasts to explain dentin hypersensitivity. Dentinal fluid dynamics evoked by various stimuli to exposed dentin cause mechanical stress to the structures underlying dentin. This review briefly discusses three hypotheses regarding dentin hypersensitivity and introduces recent findings on mechanosensitive ion channels expressed in the dental sensory system and discusses how the activation of these ion channels is involved in dentin hypersensitivity.

• Restorative Dentistry and Endodontics
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• 제41권1호
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• pp.44-54
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• 2016

Objectives: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the histopathological effects of an antioxidant therapy on the pulp tissue of rat teeth exposed to a bleaching gel with 35% hydrogen peroxide. Materials and Methods: Forty rats were subjected to oral ingestion by gavage of distilled water (DW) or ascorbic acid (AA) 90 min before the bleaching therapy. For the bleaching treatment, the agent was applied twice for 5 min each to buccal surfaces of the first right mandibular molars. Then, the animals were sacrificed at 6 hr, 24 hr, 3 day, or 7 day post-bleaching, and the teeth were processed for microscopic evaluation of the pulp tissue. Results: At 6 hr, the pulp tissue showed moderate inflammatory reactions in all teeth of both groups. In the DW and AA groups, 100% and 80% of teeth exhibited pulp tissue with significant necrosis and intense tissue disorganization, respectively. At 24 hr, the AA-treated group demonstrated a greater regenerative capability than the DW group, with less intense inflammatory reaction and new odontoblast layer formation in 60% of the teeth. For up to the 7 day period, the areas of pulpal necrosis were replaced by viable connective tissue, and the dentin was underlined by differentiated odontoblast-like cells in most teeth of both groups. Conclusions: A slight reduction in initial pulpal damage during post-bleaching was promoted by AA therapy. However, the pulp tissue of AA-treated animals featured faster regenerative potential over time.

• The Korean Journal of Physiology and Pharmacology
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• 제1권6호
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• pp.809-816
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• 1997

The present study was designed to investigate whether endogenous nitric oxide(EDNO) is involved in submandibular vasodilation and salivation induced by parasympathetic nerve stimulation. Effects of $N^w$-nitro-L-arginine-methyl ester (L-NAME) which blocks the synthesis of EDNO from L-arginine on the submandibular vasodilation and salivation induced by chords stimulation or administration of various vasodilators were examined in anesthetized cats. Effect of L-NAME on $K^+$ efflux induced by carbachol was also examined using the excised submandibular slice in vitro. In the submandibular slices, acetylcholine$(10^{-5}\;mol/L)$ or vasoactive intestinal polypeptide$(VIP,\;10^{-5}\;mol/L)$ increased $NO_2$ contents, which was Prevented by pretreatment with L-NAME. Salivary secretion in response to the chords stimulation$(3\;V,\;1\;msec,\;10{\sim}20\;Hz)$ was completely blocked by treatment with atropine(1 mg/kg). Increased blood flow response to the low frequency(1, 2, 5 Hz) stimulation was significantly reduced, whereas the blood flow induced by the higher frequency(10,20 Hz) stimulation was not affected. Lingual-arterial infusion of L-NAME(100 mg/kg) significantly diminished the vasodilatory and salivary responses to the chorda stimulation at all stimuli frequencies used. Intra-arterial infusion of L-NAME(100 mg/kg markedly diminished the vasodilatory responses to acetylcholine$(5\;{\mu}g/kg)$, VIP$(5\;{\mu}g/kg)$ or bradykinin$(5\;{\mu}g/kg)$. In the excised submandibular slice, $K^+$ efflux in response to carbachol$(10^{-5}\;mol/L)$ was significantly decrease by pretreatment with L-NAME$(10^{-5}\;mol/L)$. In the isolated submandibular artery precontracted with phenylephrine$(10^{-5}\;mol/L)$, the vasorelaxation induced by ACh$(10^{-7}\;mol/L)$ was reversed into a contraction by methylene blue$(10^{-4}\;mol/L)$. These results suggest that EDNO may play an important role in vasodilation and secretion of the submandibular gland.

• The Korean Journal of Physiology and Pharmacology
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• 제14권3호
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• pp.157-161
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• 2010

Heat shock proteins (HSPs) are specifically induced by various forms of stress. Hsp70.1, a member of the hsp70 family is known to play an important role in cytoprotection from stressful insults. However, the functional role of Hsp70 in motor function after spinal cord injury (SCI) is still unclear. To study the role of hsp70.1 in motor recovery following SCI, we assessed locomotor function in hsp70.1 knockout (KO) mice and their wild-type (WT) mice via the Basso, Beattie and Bresnahan (BBB) locomotor rating scale, before and after spinal hemisection at T13 level. We also examined lesion size in the spinal cord using Luxol fast blue/cresyl violet staining. One day after injury, KO and WT mice showed no significant difference in the motor function due to complete paralysis following spinal hemisection. However, when it compared to WT mice, KO mice had significantly delayed and decreased functional outcomes from 4 days up to 21 days after SCI. KO mice also showed significantly greater lesion size in the spinal cord than WT mice showed at 21 days after spinal hemisection. These results suggest that Hsp70 has a protective effect against traumatic SCI and the manipulation of the hsp70.1 gene may help improve the recovery of motor function, thereby enhancing neuroprotection after SCI.

• The Korean Journal of Physiology and Pharmacology
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• 제7권2호
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• pp.59-63
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• 2003

The medial vestibular nucleus (MVN) neurons are controlled by excitatory synaptic transmission from the vestibular afferent and commissural projections, and by inhibitory transmission from interneurons. Spontaneous synaptic currents of MVN neurons were studied using whole cell patch clamp recording in slices prepared from 13- to 17-day-old rats. The spontaneous inhibitory postsynaptic currents (sIPSCs) were significantly reduced by the $GABA_A$ antagonist bicuculline ($20{\mu}M$), but were not affected by the glycine antagonist strychnine ($1{\mu}M$). The frequency, amplitude, and decay time constant of sIPSCs were $4.3{\pm}0.9$ Hz, $18.1{\pm}2.0$ pA, and $8.9{\pm}0.4$ ms, respectively. Spontaneous excitatory postsynaptic currents (sEPSCs) were mediated by non-NMDA and NMDA receptors. The specific AMPA receptor antagonist GYKI-52466 ($50{\mu}M$) completely blocked the non-NMDA mediated sEPSCs, indicating that they are mediated by an AMPA-preferring receptor. The AMPA mediated sEPSCs were characterized by low frequency ($1.5{\pm}0.4$ Hz), small amplitude ($13.9{\pm}1.9$ pA), and rapid decay kinetics ($2.8{\pm}0.2$ ms). The majority (15/21) displayed linear I-V relationships, suggesting the presence of GluR2-containing AMPA receptors. Only 35% of recorded MVN neurons showed NMDA mediated currents, which were characterized by small amplitude and low frequency. These results suggest that the MVN neurons receive excitatory inputs mediated by AMPA, but not kainate, and NMDA receptors, and inhibitory transmission mediated by $GABA_A$ receptors in neonatal rats.