Transcriptomic profiling of tantalum metal implant osseointegration in osteopenic patients.

OBJECTIVES: The long-term success of dental implants is established by literature. Although clinically well defined, the complex genetic pathways underlying osseointegration have not yet been fully elucidated. Furthermore, patients with osteopenia/osteoporosis are considered to present as higher risk for implant failure. Porous tantalum trabecular metal (PTTM), an open-cell porous biomaterial, is suggested to present enhanced biocompatibility and osteoconductivity. The goal of this study was to evaluate the expression patterns of a panel of genes closely associated with osteogenesis and wound healing in osteopenic patients receiving either traditional titanium (Ti) or PTTM cylinders to assess the pathway of genes activation in the early phases of osseointegration. MATERIAL AND METHODS: Implant cylinders made of Ti and PTTM were placed in osteopenic volunteers. At 2- and 4 weeks of healing, one Ti and one PTTM cylinder were removed from each subject for RT-PCR analysis using osteogenesis PCR array. RESULTS: Compared to Ti, PTTM-associated bone displayed upregulation of bone matrix proteins, BMP/TGF tisuperfamily, soluble ligand and integrin receptors, growth factors, and collagen genes at one or both time points. Histologically, PTTM implants displayed more robust osteogenesis deposition and maturity when compared to Ti implants from the same patient. CONCLUSIONS: Our results indicate that PTTM properties could induce an earlier activation of genes associated with osteogenesis in osteopenic patients suggesting that PTTM implants may attenuate the relative risk of placing dental implants in this population.

In silico and functional evaluation of PTH1R mutations found in patients with primary failure of eruption (PFE).

OBJECTIVES: The genetic basis of PFE (OMIM ID: 125350) was interrogated using molecular functional studies. PFE is a disorder that results in a poor prognosis in the eruption of teeth and by extension, in treatment with a continuous archwire. We tested the hypothesis that PTH1R mutations result in loss of function due to altered protein structure to determine (i) the fate of a functional PTH1R mutation and (ii) the resulting PTH1R protein structure of each functional mutation. METHODS: We used immunofluorescence assay of COS7 cells that were transfected with either the WT or 1092delG PTH1R mutation sequence to compare the fate of the expressed protein. We also performed in silico analysis of the WT PTH1R and four different functional PTH1R mutations RESULTS: Functional studies (IFA) showed a variation in expression between the WT and mutant PTH1R. Further, in silico analysis showed structural differences between WT and mutant PTH1R proteins, particularly in the regions of the 3rd intracellular loop and the 6th transmembrane domain required for efficient PTH1R function. CONCLUSION: PTH1R mutations identified in PFE likely result from diminished function due to truncation of the protein, lack of efficient G-protein interactions and putatively attenuated signal transduction. By identifying the mode of protein dysfunction, scientist-clinicians are better prepared to recognize and thereby develop improved methods of treatment, starting at the molecular level.

Novel mutations in PTH1R associated with primary failure of eruption and osteoarthritis.

Autosomal dominant mutations in PTH1R segregate with primary failure of eruption (PFE), marked by clinical eruption failure of adult teeth without mechanical obstruction. While the diagnosis of PFE conveys a poor dental prognosis, there are no reports of PFE patients who carry PTH1R mutations and exhibit any other skeletal problems. We performed polymerase chain reaction-based mutational analysis of the PTH1R gene to determine the genetic contribution of PTH1R in 10 families with PFE. Sequence analysis of the coding regions and intron-exon boundaries of the PTH1R gene in 10 families (n = 54) and 7 isolated individuals revealed 2 novel autosomal dominant mutations in PTH1R (c.996_997insC and C.572delA) that occur in the coding region and result in a truncated protein. One family showed incomplete penetrance. Of 10 families diagnosed with PFE, 8 did not reveal functional (nonsynonymous) mutations in PTH1R; furthermore, 4 families and 1 sporadic case carried synonymous single-nucleotide polymorphisms. Five PFE patients in 2 families carried PTH1R mutations and presented with osteoarthritis. We propose that the autosomal dominant mutations of PTH1R that cause PFE may also be associated with osteoarthritis; a dose-dependent model may explain isolated PFE and osteoarthritis in the absence of other known symptoms in the skeletal system.

Human carboxylesterase 1: from drug metabolism to drug discovery.

Human carboxylesterase 1 (hCE1) is a serine esterase involved in both drug metabolism and activation, as well as other biological processes. hCE1 catalyses the hydrolysis of heroin and cocaine, and the transesterification of cocaine in the presence of ethanol to the toxic metabolite cocaethylene. We have determined the crystal structures of hCE1 in complex with either the cocaine analogue homatropine or the heroin analogue naloxone. These are the first structures of a human carboxylesterase, and they provide details about narcotic metabolism in humans. hCE1's active site contains rigid and flexible pockets, explaining the enzyme's ability to act both specifically and promiscuously. hCE1 has also been reported to contain cholesteryl ester hydrolase, fatty acyl-CoA hydrolase and acyl-CoA:cholesterol acyltransferase activities, and thus appears to be involved in cholesterol metabolism. Since the enzyme may be useful as a treatment for cocaine overdose, and may afford protection against chemical weapons like Sarin, Soman and VX gas, hCE1 could serve as both a drug and a drug target. Selective hCE1 inhibitors targeted to several sites on the enzyme may also pave the way for novel clinical tools to manage cholesterol homoeostasis in humans.