Search

Ameloblastic fibroma (AF) is a rare benign tumor, with approximately 80% of AF cases occurring in patients below the age of 22 years. Notably, it is less frequent (16.9%) in patients aged ≤ 10 years. Most cases of AF occur in the mandible, with only a few occurrences in the maxilla. Herein, we report a case of AF in the maxilla of an 8-year-old child. In the present case, AF was suggested to have impaired the development of permanent teeth. Regular checkups, including radiographic examinations starting in childhood, may facilitate early detection of lesions in the maxillofacial region. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Odontogenic keratocysts (OKCs) are one of the most frequently encountered cystic diseases of the jaw in clinical practice. Although OKC has been reported as a manifestation of nevoid basal cell carcinoma syndrome (Gorlin syndrome) in many pediatric patients, there have been few reports of OKC occurring in isolation. Herein, we report the case of a relatively large OKC in the mandibular body of a 7‐year‐old girl who was treated conservatively using cystectomy and open wound surgery, and the permanent teeth were unaffected. Regular check‐ups, including radiographic examinations, starting in childhood may contribute to the early detection of lesions in the maxillofacial region. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: We evaluated the efficacy of the factor Xa inhibitor rivaroxaban on the differentiation ability of vascular endothelial progenitor cells (EPCs), which play roles in vascular injury repair and atherogenesis. Antithrombotic treatment in patients with atrial fibrillation undergoing percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) is challenging, and current guidelines recommend oral anticoagulant monotherapy 1 year or more after PCI. However, biological evidence of the pharmacological effects of anticoagulants is insufficient. Methods: EPC colony-forming assays were performed using peripheral blood-derived CD34-positive cells from healthy volunteers. Adhesion and tube formation of cultured EPCs were assessed in human umbilical cord-derived CD34-positive cells. Endothelial cell surface markers were assessed using flow cytometry, and Akt and endothelial nitric oxide synthase (eNOS) phosphorylation were examined using western blot analysis of EPCs. Adhesion, tube formation and endothelial cell surface marker expression was observed in EPCs transfected with small interfering RNA (siRNA) against protease-activated receptor (PAR)-2. Finally, EPC behaviors were assessed in patients with atrial fibrillation undergoing PCI in whom warfarin was changed to rivaroxaban. Results: Rivaroxaban increased the number of large EPC colonies and increased the bioactivities of EPCs, including adhesion and tube formation. Rivaroxaban also increased vascular endothelial growth factor receptor (VEGFR)-1, VEGFR-2, Tie-2, and E-selectin expression as well as Akt and eNOS phosphorylation. PAR-2 knockdown increased the bioactivities of EPCs and endothelial cell surface marker expression. Patients in whom the number of large colonies increased after switching to rivaroxaban showed better vascular repair. Conclusions: Rivaroxaban increased the differentiation ability of EPCs, leading to potential advantages in the treatment of coronary artery disease. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Secretory carcinoma (SC) is an uncommon salivary gland tumor that has been recently conceptualized. The present report describes a case of SC that was diagnosed as a mucocele on preoperative examination. A 46-year-old man presented to the Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery at Saiseikai Senri Hospital (Suita-shi, Japan) with a main complaint of swelling of the right buccal mucosa. A mobile, elastic, hard mass was found beneath the right normal-appearing buccal mucosa. T2-weighted magnetic resonance imaging revealed a well-defined, internally homogeneous high-signal area with a maximum diameter of 18 mm. Based on the clinical diagnosis of mucocele, the buccal lesion was excised. Histopathological, immunohistochemical and fluorescence in situ hybridization analyses revealed the cystic lesion to be a macrocystic SC of a minor salivary gland. SC may have a mucocele-like appearance on magnetic resonance imaging. Even if a non-neoplastic lesion is suspected, the possibility of a malignant lesion such as SC must be considered for salivary gland disease. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Preventing cancer metastasis requires a thorough understanding of cancer cell invasion. These phenomena occur in human 3‐D living tissues. To this end, we developed a human cell‐based three‐dimensional (3‐D) cultured tissue constructs that imitate in vivo human tissue organization. We investigated whether our 3‐D cell culture system can be used to analyze the invasion of human oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) cells. The 3‐D tissue structure consisted of five layers of normal human dermal fibroblasts along with human dermal lymphatic endothelial cell tubes and was generated by the cell accumulation technique and layer‐by‐layer assembly using fibronectin and gelatin. OSCC cells with different lymph metastatic capacity were inoculated on the 3‐D tissues and their invasion through the 3‐D tissue structure was observed. Conventional methods of analyzing cell migration and invasion, that is, 2‐D culture‐based transwell and Matrigel assays were also used for comparison. The results using the 3‐D cultured tissue constructs were comparable to those obtained using conventional assays; moreover, use of the 3‐D system enabled visualization of differential invasion capacities of cancer cells. These results indicate that our 3‐D cultured tissue constructs can be a useful tool for analysis of cancer cell invasion in a setting that reflects the in vivo tissue organization. © 2018 The Authors. Journal of Biomedical Materials Research Part A published by Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Biomed Mater Res Part A: 107A: 292–300, 2019. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In our last issue, we previewed Thomas Hanna's book, Our common wealth: The return of public ownership in the United States.1 Here two activists and thinkers, Satoko Kishimoto of the Transnational Institute, Amsterdam, and Cat Hobbs, founder of We Own It, comment on Hanna's work. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]