Serum levels of iron, zinc, copper and vitamin D in severe early childhood caries / 口腔疾病防治

Objective @#The serum levels of iron, zinc, copper and vitamin D in severe early childhood caries (S-ECC) patients were investigated and analyzed to provide reference for primary prevention and diagnosis of S-ECC children.@*Methods @#A total of 184 children were enrolled in the Children Health Department of Xinjiang Medical University Health Management Center from June 2018 to June 2019. They were divided into the caries-free (CF) group (n=89) and S-ECC group (n=95). The contents of iron, zinc, copper and vitamin D were detected.@* Results@# The serum iron content of the CF group and S-ECC group was (8.36 ± 0.42) mmol/L and (8.13 ± 0.44) mmol/L, respectively, and the difference was statistically significant (t=3.50, P < 0.001); the serum content of zinc was (83.18 ± 7.28) μmol/L and (79.23 ± 6.38) μmol/L, respectively, and the difference was statistically significant (t=3.92, P < 0.001); the serum content of 25-hydroxyvitamin D was (86.72 ± 15.83) nmol/L and (77.75 ± 11.38) nmol/L, respectively, and the difference was statistically significant (t=4.42, P < 0.001). The serum copper content of CF group and S-ECC group was (20.18 ± 4.84) μmol/L and (19.49 ± 4.62) μmol/L, but the difference was not statistically significant (t=0.97, P=0.33).@*Conclusion@#The contents of iron, zinc and vitamin D in the serum of S-ECC patients are low, suggesting that iron, zinc and vitamin D supplementation should be emphasized in the prevention and treatment of S-ECC.

miR-214 inhibits the osteogenic differentiation of dental follicle cells in vitro / 口腔疾病防治

Objective @# To investigate the effect of miR-214 on the osteogenic differentiation of dental follicle cells (DFCs).@*Methods@#Purified DFCs were cultured in vitro by bidirectional differential passage, with the untransfected DFCs as the control group (DFCs group). The expression of miR-214-3p in DFCs was upregulated and downregulated by transfection of miR-214-3p(miR-214 mimics group) or miR-214-3p inhibitors(miR-214 inhibitor group) into DFCs. The expression levels of miR-214, alkaline phosphatase (ALP), osteonectin (OSN) and runt-related transcription factor-2(RUNX-2) were detected by qRT-PCR after 7 days of osteogenesis induction, the protein expression levels of RUNX-2 and β-catenin were detected by western blot, and the formation of mineralized nodules was observed with alizarin red staining after 14 days of osteogenesis induction. @*Results @# Compared with the DFCs group, in the miR-214 mimics group, the expression of miR-214 was upregulated after 7 days of osteogenesis induction. The mRNA expression of ALP, OSN and RUNX-2 in the miR-214 mimics group was lower than that in the DFCs group, but only ALP in the two groups was statistically significant (P > 0.05); the mRNA expression of ALP, OSN and RUNX-2 in the miR-214 inhibitor group was higher than that in the DFCs group, and the difference was statistically significant (P < 0.05). The protein expression of RUNX-2 and β-catenin in the miR-214 mimics group was lower than that in the miR-214 inhibitor group. The number of calcified nodules in the miR-214 mimics group was significantly less than that in the DFCs group, while that in the miR-214 inhibitor group was significantly higher than that in the DFCs group. @*Conclusion@#The upregulation of miR-214 can downregulate the expression of β-catenin, can inhibit the expression of ALP, OSN and RUNX-2 related to osteogenesis, and can inhibit osteogenic differentiation. The downregulation of miR-214 demonstrated the opposite results; miR-214 may downregulate the expression of β-catenin and inhibit the osteogenic differentiation of DFCs.