Novel hydrogel systems for dentin regeneration
Toronto, ON, Canada – Dental caries, or tooth decay, continues to be
the most prevalent infectious disease in the world, presenting
significant public health challenges and socio-economic consequences.
It leads to the loss of the hard tissues of the tooth, followed by
inflammation and necrosis of the subjacent dental pulp. In the U.S.
alone, over 20 million dental restorations are placed each year, with
failure rates of up to 60%. Hence, there exists a critical need for
better biologic therapeutics to restore the damaged dentin-pulp
complex to its original form and function. However, progress in this
area has been slow compared with that in other fields of regenerative
medicine.
Tissue-engineering strategies directed at mimicking the natural
extracellular matrix have utilized synthetic and non-synthetic
scaffolds to direct cell differentiation and matrix mineralization
(in the case of bone). The most promising among the new generation of
delivery systems are synthetic peptide hydrogels, which provide a
nanostructured matrix highly similar to natural matrix. Short
peptides can be designed to self-assemble into nanofibers, form
macroscopic gels, and entrap living cells. With single amino acids as
building blocks, the resulting materials are non-toxic, non-
inflammatory, and biodegradable. The modular concept allows for high
control over the system and, at the same time, makes it extremely
versatile.
Speaking today during the 86th General Session of the International
Association for Dental Research, a team of investigators from Baylor
College of Dentistry (Dallas), the University of Regensburg
(Germany), and Rice University (Houston) presents its preliminary
data describing the results of studies on hydrogels made of peptide
amphiphiles, where a short peptide sequence is attached to a fatty
acid, which provides the driving force for self-assembly. However,
they recently applied a different design concept, where the self-
assembly of peptide chains is achieved without attaching a
hydrophobic tail. Based on their design, the chains can include
bioactive peptide sequences for cell adhesion, binding of growth
factors, or other biological molecules with therapeutic potential.
Hence, multidomain peptide hydrogels represent a novel and highly
versatile material offering a higher degree of control over nanofiber
architecture and better chemical functionality.
The overarching goal of this research is to utilize these multidomain
peptides as a biomimetic scaffold, along with dental stem cell
therapy, to provide a natural 3D environment that can control and
direct the differentiation and function of dental stem cells for the
targeted regeneration of the dentin-pulp complex.
This work is highly translational and innovative, since it
capitalizes on a new and previously untested material with novel
properties for the regeneration of the dentin-pulp complex.
Importantly, the results will provide the foundation for developing
multidomain peptide scaffolds as novel therapeutics for the
regeneration of the dentin-pulp complex.
###
About the International Association for Dental Research
The International Association for Dental Research (IADR) is a non-
profit organization with more than 10,800 individual members
worldwide, dedicated to: (1) advancing research and increasing
knowledge to improve oral health, (2) supporting the oral health
research community, and (3) facilitating the communication and
application of research findings for the improvement of oral health
worldwide.
To learn more about the IADR, visit www.iadr.org.
This is a summary of an abstract entitled "Novel Hydrogel Systems for
Dentin Regeneration"
of Dentistry (Dallas), to be presented at 3:30 p.m. on Friday, July
4, 2008, in Hall D-E of the Metro Toronto Convention Centre, Toronto,
ON, Canada, during the 86th General Session of the International
Association for Dental Research.
Public release date: 4-Jul-2008
Contact: Linda Hemphill
lhemphill@iadr.
International & American Association for Dental Research
http://www.eurekale
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