ASA modulates the expression of growth factor-associated genes and enhances osteogenic potential in PDLSCs. ASA upregulated the expression of genes that could activate biologic functions and canonic pathways related to cell proliferation, human embryonic stem cell pluripotency, tissue regeneration, and differentiation. These findings suggest that ASA enhances PDLSC function and may be useful in regenerative dentistry applications, particularly in the areas of periodontal health and regeneration.

MRI measured optic nerve volume is a reliable method of assessing glaucomatous damage beyond the optic nerve head. A value of 236 mm(3) and below can be used to define severe glaucoma.

Retina and retinal pigment epithelium (RPE) cells are of neuroectodermal origin with highly specialized functions in light perception. Identification and characterization of genes differentially expressed in these cells will greatly aid our understanding of their functional roles in retinal biology. As a source enriched for gene transcripts from the retina/RPE, we generated a human retina and a bovine RPE cDNA library applying the PCR-based technique of suppression subtractive hybridization (SSH). Sequencing of 1,080 retina and 2,350 RPE SSH clones resulted in the identification of 321 and 343 non-redundant human transcripts, respectively. Of these, only 27 genes were in common between the two cDNA libraries. One transcript expressed exclusively in retina and RPE is the novel gene C4orf11 which is comprised of four exons on chromosome 4q21.2. We report the full-length cloning of two isoforms of C4orf11, 919 bp and 857 bp in length, both of which contain four identical open reading frames (ORFs). While ORFs 1 to 3 show no homologies to known proteins or protein domains, ORF4 reveals 50% sequence identity to RPE-spondin, a hypothetical protein on 8q13.3 with unknown function. We demonstrate that both the retina and the RPE SSH cDNA libraries are excellent resources for identifying known and novel genes exclusively or abundantly expressed in the retina/RPE complex. In combination with other approaches such as microarray analysis or serial analysis of gene expression (SAGE), the availability of highly sensitive and specific SSH cDNA libraries will facilitate the comprehensive description of the retina/RPE transcriptome.

Lead (Pb2+) exposure continues to be a significant public health problem. Therefore, it is vital to have a continuous epidemiological dataset for a better understanding of Pb2+ toxicity. In the present study, we have exposed stem cells isolated from deciduous and permanent teeth, periodontal ligament, and bone marrow to five different types of Pb2+ concentrations (160, 80, 40, 20, and 10 µM) for 24 hours to identify the adverse effects of Pb2+ on the proliferation, differentiation, and gene expression on these cell lines. We found that Pb2+ treatment altered the morphology and adhesion of the cells in a dose-dependent manner. There were no significant changes in terms of cell surface phenotypes. Cells exposed to Pb2+ continued to differentiate into chondrogenesis and adipogenesis, and a severe downregulation was observed in osteogenesis. Gene expression studies revealed a constant expression of key markers associated with stemness (Oct 4, Rex 1) and DNA repair enzyme markers, but downregulation occurred with some ectoderm and endoderm markers, demonstrating an irregular and untimely differentiation trail. Our study revealed for the first time that Pb2+ exposure not only affects the phenotypic characteristics but also induces significant alteration in the differentiation and gene expression in the cells.

Periodontal ligament (PDL) contains a unique population of mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs), also known as PDL stem cells (PDLSCs). The regenerative properties of PDLSCs hold great potential for its use in stem cells based therapy, particularly for periodontal or bone regeneration. The present study investigated the global gene expression profile in PDLSCs during osteogenic differentiation. MSCs from PDL were isolated from normal permanent human teeth (n = 3). Microarray analysis was used to study the effects of ASA (200, 500, and 1000 μM) on the gene expression profiles in PDLSCs during osteogenic differentiation. Microarray study revealed that ASA was able to modulate PDLSCs gene expression profile. At 200 µM, 315 genes were dysregulated genes (DE), involving 151 upregulated and 164 downregulated genes. At 500 µM, 794 genes were DE, involving of 364 upregulated and 430 downregulated genes. At 1000 µM, the number of DE genes increased to 2035, of which 735 were upregulated and 1300 were downregulated. Bioinformatics analyses of the gene expression data revealed that the majority of DE genes (for 500 and 1000 µM ASA treatment) are involved in osteogenic differentiation. The gene network analysis was carried out using Ingenuity Pathway Analysis (IPA) software, and this revealed that the number of gene groups involved in cell adhesion and extracellular matrix components were increased. This study indicated that ASA could enhance PDLSCs functions and provide evidence for the potential use of ASA with PDLSCs for regenerative dentistry applications, particularly in the areas of periodontal health and regeneration. Periodontal ligament stem cells (PDLSCs) Aspirin (ASA) Microarray Osteogenic