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The primary goal of bone tissue engineering is to fabricate scaffolds that can provide a microenvironment similar to that of natural bone. Therefore, various scaffolds have been designed to replicate the bone structure. Although most tissues exhibit complicated structures, their basic structural unit includes stiff platelets arranged in a staggered micro-array. Therefore, many researchers have designed scaffolds with staggered patterns. However, relatively few studies have comprehensively analyzed this type of scaffold. In this review, we have analyzed scientific research pertaining to staggered scaffold designs and summarized their effects on the physical and biological properties of scaffolds. Compression tests or finite element analysis are typically used to evaluate the mechanical properties of scaffolds, and most studies have performed experiments in cell cultures. Staggered scaffolds improve mechanical strength and are beneficial for cell attachment, proliferation, and differentiation in comparison with conventional designs. However, very few have been studied in vivo experiments. Additionally, studies on the effect of staggered structures on angiogenesis or bone regeneration in vivo, particularly in large animals, are required. Currently, with the prevalence of artificial intelligence (AI)-based technologies, highly optimized models can be developed, resulting in better discoveries. In the future, AI can be used to deepen our understanding on the staggered structure, promoting its use in clinical applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Compared to fixed orthodontic appliances with brackets, thermoplastic invisible orthodontic aligners offer several advantages, such as high aesthetic performance, good comfort, and convenient oral health maintenance, and are widely used in orthodontic fields. However, prolonged use of thermoplastic invisible aligners may lead to demineralization and even caries in most patients' teeth, as they enclose the tooth surface for an extended period. To address this issue, we have created PETG composites that contain piezoelectric barium titanate nanoparticles (BaTiO3NPs) to obtain antibacterial properties. First, we prepared piezoelectric composites by incorporating varying amounts of BaTiO3NPs into PETG matrix material. The composites were then characterized using techniques such as SEM, XRD, and Raman spectroscopy, which confirmed the successful synthesis of the composites. We cultivated biofilms of Streptococcus mutans (S. mutans) on the surface of the nanocomposites under both polarized and unpolarized conditions. We then activated piezoelectric charges by subjecting the nanocomposites to 10 Hz cyclic mechanical vibration. The interactions between the biofilms and materials were evaluated by measuring the biofilm biomass. The addition of piezoelectric nanoparticles had a noticeable antibacterial effect on both the unpolarized and polarized conditions. Under polarized conditions, nanocomposites demonstrated a greater antibacterial effect than under unpolarized conditions. Additionally, as the concentration of BaTiO3NPs increased, the antibacterial rate also increased, with the surface antibacterial rate reaching 67.39% (30 wt% BaTiO3NPs). These findings have the potential for application in wearable, invisible appliances to improve clinical services and reduce the need for cleaning methods. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) is one of the most common malignancies worldwide, due to poor diagnosis and treatment. There is increasing evidence that demonstrates the involvement of long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) in carcinogenesis and cancer progression. Therefore, the aim of the present study was to explore potential lncRNA-associated features of patients with OSCC as a valuable and independent prognostic biomarker. A total of 268 lncRNA expression profiles and clinical patient information on OSCC were downloaded from The Cancer Genome Atlas database. The clinical information was exploited for prescreening, using Cox regression analysis, and differentially expressed lncRNAs (DElncRNAs) were identified using edgeR software. Using the 'caret' package, the datasets were categorized into test datasets and training datasets, respectively. Through bioinformatics, seven prognostic DElncRNAs were selected. Using the regression coefficients, a risk score based on the seven-DElncRNA signature was developed to assess the prognostic function of key DElncRNAs. According to the median risk score, patients were classified into high-risk and low-risk groups in the training and test datasets. Additionally, receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis was conducted to evaluate the sensitivity and specificity of the prognostic DElncRNAs, and the optimal cut-off point was obtained from ROC analysis. Based on the optimal cut-off point, the patients were also categorized into high-risk and low-risk groups. Notably, the optimal cut-off point was more sensitive than the median risk score, particularly in the test dataset. The Kaplan-Meier survival and log rank test analysis results indicated that the P-value, based on the optimal cut-off, was less than the median risk cut-off. Additionally, stratified analysis results revealed that the seven-DElncRNAs signature was also independent of OSCC age. Furthermore, the findings of the present study suggested that the seven-DElncRNA signature can be used as a potential prognostic indicator and may have important clinical significance in OSCC. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

It has been recently reported that, in a rat calvarial defect model, adding endothelial cells (ECs) to a culture of bone marrow stromal cells (BMSCs) significantly enhanced bone formation. The aim of this study is to further investigate the ossification process of newly formed osteoid and host response to the poly(L-lactide-co-1,5-dioxepan-2-one) [poly(LLA-co-DXO)] scaffolds based on previous research. Several different histological methods and a PCR Array were applied to evaluate newly formed osteoid after 8 weeks after implantation. Histological results showed osteoid formed in rat calvarial defects and endochondral ossification-related genes, such as dentin matrix acidic phosphoprotein 1 (Dmp1) and collagen type II, and alpha 1 (Col2a1) exhibited greater expression in the CO (implantation with BMSC/EC/Scaffold constructs) than the BMSC group (implantation with BMSC/Scaffold constructs) as demonstrated by PCR Array. It was important to notice that cartilage-like tissue formed in the pores of the copolymer scaffolds. In addition, multinucleated giant cells (MNGCs) were observed surrounding the scaffold fragments. It was concluded that the mechanism of ossification might be an endochondral ossification process when the copolymer scaffolds loaded with co-cultured ECs/BMSCs were implanted into rat calvarial defects. MNGCs were induced by the poly(LLA-co-DXO) scaffolds after implantation, and more specific in vivo studies are needed to gain a better understanding of host response to copolymer scaffolds. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Oral cancer is a very aggressive disease with high rates of recurrence and metastasis. This study aimed at addressing how efficiently tongue cancer is suppressed after carbon ion irradiation. Here, the close relationship between upregulated expression of focal adhesion kinase (FAK) and high metastatic status in tongue squamous cell carcinoma patients was validated using bioinformatics and immunohistochemical analyses. Our data indicated that FAK suppression significantly enhanced the killing effect induced by irradiation in the tongue cancer cell line CAL27, as evidenced by increased apoptotic induction and reduced colony formation. More importantly, in FAK-deficient cells, carbon ion irradiation was shown to remarkably inhibit migration and invasion by delaying wound healing and slowing down motility. Further studies revealed that irradiation exposure caused disorganization of the actin cytoskeleton and reduced cell adhesive energy in FAK-deficient cells. Moreover, carbon ion treatment, in combination with FAK silencing, markedly blocked the phosphorylation levels of FAK, and paxillin, which partly contributed to the reduced motility of tongue squamous cell carcinoma CAL27 cells. Collectively, these results suggest that the prominent obstructing role of carbon ion irradiation in the growth inhibition and metastatic behavior of tumors, including attenuation of cell adhesiveness, motility, and invasiveness, could be distinctly modulated by FAK-mediated downstream pathways., Competing Interests: The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest., (Copyright © 2021 Si, Ye, Bing, Fan, Hu, Liu, Wang, Liu and An.)