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Background Cluster of differentiation 147 (CD147) is a multifunctional glycoprotein that functions as an inducer of matrix metalloproteinase (MMP) expression in fibroblasts. Synergistically enhanced MMP-2 expression was recently observed in the coculture of human gingival fibroblasts (HGFs) and U937 human monocytic cells; however, the responsible mechanisms have not yet been fully established. The aim of this study was to evaluate the release of soluble CD147 in HGFs after coculturing with U937 cells and its functional effect on the enhancement of MMP-2 expression in HGFs. Methods Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay was used to determine the amount of CD147 protein in media, whereas real-time polymerase chain reaction was performed to evaluate the mRNA levels of CD147 and MMP-2 in HGFs and U937 cells. The enzyme activities of MMP-2 released from cells were examined by zymography. Transwell coculturing and conditioned media treatments were selected to rule out the effect of direct contact of HGFs and U937 cells. Results The protein and mRNA expression of CD147 in HGFs were enhanced after transwell coculturing with U937 cells and exposure to U937-conditioned medium. MMP-2 enzyme activities in HGFs were also significantly increased by the coculturing methods. Administration of exogenous CD147 enhanced MMP-2 expression in HGFs, whereas treatment with cyclosporine-A, which inhibited CD147 expression, reduced U937-enhanced MMP-2 expression in HGFs. Conclusions CD147 can interact with fibroblasts to stimulate the expression of MMPs associated with periodontal extracellular matrix degradation. This study has demonstrated that CD147 released from fibroblasts might play a role in monocyte-enhanced MMP-2 expression in HGFs.

Matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) play a key role in inflammatory periodontal disease. Synergistically enhanced MMP-2 expression in a coculture of human gingival fibroblasts (HGFs) and human monocytic U937 cells was observed. Crosstalk between these two cells via the extracellular matrix metalloproteinase inducer (EMMPRIN) was demonstrated.Enzyme levels of MMP-2 in HGFs and direct coculture with U937 were examined by zymography. MMP-2 and EMMPRIN expressions of HGFs and U937 were determined in coculture and conditioned cultures (using supernatants from HGF- or U937-conditioned medium). The crosstalk was evaluated by EMMPRIN extrasupplement and EMMPRIN inhibition, through pretreatment of U937 with cyclosporine-A.Direct coculturing of HGFs and U937 enhanced MMP-2 enzyme level and mRNA expression. Coculturing also increased membranous EMMPRIN expression of U937, but not from HGFs. In conditioned cultures, mRNA expression of MMP-2 increased in HGFs which received U937-conditioned medium. Increased MMP-2 was not observed in U937 with HGF-conditioned medium, although mRNA expression of EMMPRIN increased. Enhanced MMP-2 was observed after administration of exogenous EMMPRIN in HGFs; however, reduced MMP-2 enzyme level was noted if EMMPRIN of cocultured U937 was inhibited.In the coculture of HGFs and U937, upregulated EMMPRIN expression in U937, which may be triggered by HGFs, can enhance MMP-2 expression in HGFs. Crosstalk between HGFs and U937 involving MMP-2 from HGFs was proposed; EMMPRIN from U937 may play a particular role.

Huang R-Y, Cheng W-C, Chen C-J, Lin C-D, Lai T-M, Shen E-C, Chiang C-Y, Chiu H-C, Fu E. Three-dimensional analysis of the root morphology of mandibular first molars with distolingual roots. International Endodontic Journal, 43, 478–484, 2010. Abstract Aim To determine the prevalence of distolingual roots in mandibular first molar teeth in Taiwanese Han Chinese, and its impact on root morphology. Methodology The presence of distolingual roots in 375 subjects (521 molars) were assessed from 624 patients attending the dental clinics of medical centres around Taiwan island from August 2004 to April 2007 using computed tomography. The following observations were made: (i) numbers of roots and canals, (ii) mesial and distal root types and (iii) levels of furca in the molars presence or absence of distolingual root. Results The mean age of the subject was 45; 43% were women. Among all the examined molars, 56%, 27% and 18% were two-, three- and four-rooted, respectively. Two per cent, 72% and 26% of molars had two, three and four canals, respectively. All of the four-rooted molars had four canals, but all of the molars with four canals varied in the number of roots. All molars with distolingual roots had two mesial canals. Bilateral consistency in terms of distolingual root, root canal number, root number and root type was observed in subjects with bilateral molars. In molars with distolingual roots, a higher prevalence of two mesial roots and a shorter mesial root trunk were observed than in teeth without distolingual roots. Conclusions A distolingual root was found in 22% of molars and in 24% of the subjects examined. Most subjects with a distolingual root had them bilaterally. The presence of a distolingual root was associated with variation in the root morphology, including the furcation level, the root type and the number of roots and canals.

Dental radiography plays an important role in clinical diagnosis, treatment and surgery. In recent years, efforts have been made on developing computerized dental X-ray image analysis systems for clinical usages. A novel framework for objective evaluation of automatic dental radiography analysis algorithms has been established under the auspices of the IEEE International Symposium on Biomedical Imaging 2015 Bitewing Radiography Caries Detection Challenge and Cephalometric X-ray Image Analysis Challenge. In this article, we present the datasets, methods and results of the challenge and lay down the principles for future uses of this benchmark. The main contributions of the challenge include the creation of the dental anatomy data repository of bitewing radiographs, the creation of the anatomical abnormality classification data repository of cephalometric radiographs, and the definition of objective quantitative evaluation for comparison and ranking of the algorithms. With this benchmark, seven automatic methods for analysing cephalometric X-ray image and two automatic methods for detecting bitewing radiography caries have been compared, and detailed quantitative evaluation results are presented in this paper. Based on the quantitative evaluation results, we believe automatic dental radiography analysis is still a challenging and unsolved problem. The datasets and the evaluation software will be made available to the research community, further encouraging future developments in this field. (http://www-o.ntust.edu.tw/~cweiwang/ISBI2015/).