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Life
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Gene/Stem Cell/Molecular Therapy of Craniofacial and Bone Diseases
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Gene/Stem Cell/Molecular Therapy of Craniofacial and Bone Diseases

A special issue of Life (ISSN 2075-1729). This special issue belongs to the section "Medical Research".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (31 July 2022) | Viewed by 17025

Special Issue Editors

Dr. Shuying Yang

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Guest Editor
Department of Basic and Translational Sciences, School of Dental Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USA
Interests: bone biology; stem cells; molecular therapy; bone regeneration; nanoparticles; bone diseases; craniofacial defects
Dr. Keya Mao

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Guest Editor
Department of Orthopedics, General Hospital of Chinese PLA, Beijing 100853, China
Interests: bone regeneration; bone tissue engineering; bone regeneration materials; bone defect; bone fusion
Dr. Brian P. Ford

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Oral & Maxillofacial Surgery, Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USA
Interests: bone grafting; craniofacial reconstruction; bone regeneration; craniofacial defects; dental implant

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Skeletal and craniofacial diseases affect billions of patients each year and are one of main causes of disability and morbidity, resulting in the physical, emotional, and economic hardships of the patients and their families. In recent years, significant progress has been made in the development of novel treatments of bone diseases. Gene therapies have been used to correct, replace, overexpress, or knockout/knockdown the target genes that cause bone diseases. Genetic modification is also known as genetic engineering or recombinant-DNA technology, which includes modifying the existing genes or constructing new genes and incorporating genes into a new organism; transferring genes from one organism to another; or moving, deleting, modifying, or multiplying genes in a living organism. With a deep understanding of stem cell biology, stem cell therapy becomes one of most promising therapeutics, which has been extensively used in human trials in different kinds of bone diseases such as osteoporosis, intervertebral disc degeneration, bone fracture, osteoarthritis and rheumatoid arthritis, bone cancer, and many others. Moreover, nanotechnology, as a revolutionary technology, has become a powerful tool for developing treatments for bone diseases which are difficult to treat with conventional clinical therapies. Nanomaterial-based drug or nuclear acid delivery has potential to increase therapeutic efficiency, reduce adverse effects, and to cure currently incurable bone diseases. Life is now seeking original papers and review articles that describe innovative gene/stem cell/molecular therapies to enhance the therapy of bone diseases in the preclinical as well clinical setting. The design, optimization, and application of such therapies, include, but are not limited to, the following:

Drug delivery approaches for treatment of bone diseases;

Stem cell therapy for skeletal and craniofacial diseases;

Gene silencing, targeting, and editing for therapeutic intervention of craniofacial and bone diseases;

Stem cells, genes, and molecular therapies for skeletal repair and regeneration;

Nanomaterial application for treatment of craniofacial and bone diseases;

New drug discovery and application for craniofacial and bone diseases.

Dr. Shuying Yang
Dr. Keya Mao
Dr. Brian P. Ford
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Life is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2600 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • gene therapy
  • stem cells
  • drug delivery
  • nanomaterials
  • bone diseases
  • craniofacial
  • bone regeneration
  • molecular therapy
  • target drug delivery
  • bone repair

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Published Papers (4 papers)

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Research

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14 pages, 2619 KiB  
Article
Feasibility Study of a Novel Magnetic Bone Cement for the Treatment of Bone Metastases
by Bowen Ren, Zhenchuan Han, Wenyi Li and Jianheng Liu
Life 2022, 12(9), 1342; https://doi.org/10.3390/life12091342 - 29 Aug 2022
Cited by 4 | Viewed by 1793
Abstract
Bone cement is a crucial material to treat bone metastases defects, and can fill the bone defect and provide mechanical support simultaneously, but the antitumor effect is very limited. Magnetic bone cement not only supports bone metastasis defects but can also achieve magnetic [...] Read more.
Bone cement is a crucial material to treat bone metastases defects, and can fill the bone defect and provide mechanical support simultaneously, but the antitumor effect is very limited. Magnetic bone cement not only supports bone metastasis defects but can also achieve magnetic hyperthermia to eliminate tumor cells around the bone defect. However, the physicochemical properties of the bone cement matrix will change if the weight ratio of the magnetic nanoparticles in the cement is too high. We mixed 1 weight percent Zn0.3Fe2.7O4 with good biocompatibility and high heating efficiency into a polymethyl methacrylate matrix to prepare magnetic bone cement, which minimized the affection for physicochemical properties and satisfied the hyperthermia requirement of the alternating magnetic field. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Gene/Stem Cell/Molecular Therapy of Craniofacial and Bone Diseases)
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16 pages, 4184 KiB  
Article
Osteogenic Effect of Pregabalin in Human Primary Mesenchymal Stem Cells, Osteoblasts, and Osteosarcoma Cells
by Nele Wagener, Pietro Di Fazio, Kai Oliver Böker and Georg Matziolis
Life 2022, 12(4), 496; https://doi.org/10.3390/life12040496 - 28 Mar 2022
Cited by 2 | Viewed by 2691
Abstract
Seventy million patients worldwide are suffering from epilepsy. The long-term use of antiepileptic drugs causes the alteration of the bone tissue and its metabolism, thus increasing the risk of fractures. Clinical and pre-clinical studies have highlighted conflicting data on the influence of the [...] Read more.
Seventy million patients worldwide are suffering from epilepsy. The long-term use of antiepileptic drugs causes the alteration of the bone tissue and its metabolism, thus increasing the risk of fractures. Clinical and pre-clinical studies have highlighted conflicting data on the influence of the relatively new antiepileptic drug pregabalin (Lyrica®). The objective of the present study was therefore to investigate its cytotoxicity in primary human osteoblasts (hOB). HOB and human mesenchymal stem cells (hMSC) were isolated from patients. The human osteosarcoma cells MG63 were included as established cell line. Cells were incubated with pregabalin at concentrations ranging from 0 to 40 μg/mL. Time-dependent cell proliferation was measured by automatic cell counting, and metabolism was determined by XTT assay and osseous differentiation by alkaline phosphatase (ALP) activity. Histological examinations of calcium deposit were performed with ALP, Alizarin Red, and von Kossa staining. A concentration-dependent increase in the proliferation of hOB and hMSC was observed after treatment with pregabalin. All cells showed a significant increase in cell metabolism. The osteogenic differentiation, confirmed by the increase of calcium deposit, was promoted by the administration of pregabalin. This effect was already significant at the therapeutic plasma concentration of pregabalin (10 μg/mL). In contrast to the other antiepileptic drugs, pregabalin showed no osteocatabolic effects. Conflicting in-vivo data must therefore be attributed to systemic effects of pregabalin. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Gene/Stem Cell/Molecular Therapy of Craniofacial and Bone Diseases)
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Review

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19 pages, 1329 KiB  
Review
Regulation of LL-37 in Bone and Periodontium Regeneration
by Zahra Chinipardaz, Jessica M. Zhong and Shuying Yang
Life 2022, 12(10), 1533; https://doi.org/10.3390/life12101533 - 30 Sep 2022
Cited by 8 | Viewed by 3351
Abstract
The goal of regenerative therapy is to restore the structure and function of the lost tissues in the fields of medicine and dentistry. However, there are some challenges in regeneration therapy such as the delivery of oxygen and nutrition, and the risk of [...] Read more.
The goal of regenerative therapy is to restore the structure and function of the lost tissues in the fields of medicine and dentistry. However, there are some challenges in regeneration therapy such as the delivery of oxygen and nutrition, and the risk of infection in conditions such as periodontitis, osteomyelitis, etc. Leucine leucine-37 (LL-37) is a 37-residue, amphipathic, and helical peptide found only in humans and is expressed throughout the body. It has been shown to induce neovascularization and vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) expression. LL-37 also stimulates the migration and differentiation of mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs). Recent studies have shown that LL-37 plays an important role in the innate defense system through the elimination of pathogenic microbes and the modulation of the host immune response. LL-37 also manifests other functions such as promoting wound healing, angiogenesis, cell differentiation, and modulating apoptosis. This review summarizes the current studies on the structure, expression, and function of LL-37 and highlights the contributions of LL-37 to oral cavity, periodontium, and bone regeneration. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Gene/Stem Cell/Molecular Therapy of Craniofacial and Bone Diseases)
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26 pages, 1511 KiB  
Review
Epigenetic Regulation of Chondrocytes and Subchondral Bone in Osteoarthritis
by Hope C. Ball, Andrew L. Alejo, Trinity K. Samson, Amanda M. Alejo and Fayez F. Safadi
Life 2022, 12(4), 582; https://doi.org/10.3390/life12040582 - 14 Apr 2022
Cited by 7 | Viewed by 8301
Abstract
The aim of this review is to provide an updated review of the epigenetic factors involved in the onset and development of osteoarthritis (OA). OA is a prevalent degenerative joint disease characterized by chronic inflammation, ectopic bone formation within the joint, and physical [...] Read more.
The aim of this review is to provide an updated review of the epigenetic factors involved in the onset and development of osteoarthritis (OA). OA is a prevalent degenerative joint disease characterized by chronic inflammation, ectopic bone formation within the joint, and physical and proteolytic cartilage degradation which result in chronic pain and loss of mobility. At present, no disease-modifying therapeutics exist for the prevention or treatment of the disease. Research has identified several OA risk factors including mechanical stressors, physical activity, obesity, traumatic joint injury, genetic predisposition, and age. Recently, there has been increased interest in identifying epigenetic factors involved in the pathogenesis of OA. In this review, we detail several of these epigenetic modifications with known functions in the onset and progression of the disease. We also review current therapeutics targeting aberrant epigenetic regulation as potential options for preventive or therapeutic treatment. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Gene/Stem Cell/Molecular Therapy of Craniofacial and Bone Diseases)
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