Leucine rich amelogenin peptide prevents ovariectomy-induced bone loss in mice

Protein Intake and Oral Health in Older Adults-A Narrative Review

Oral health is vital to general health and well-being for all ages, and as with other chronic conditions, oral health problems increase with age. There is a bi-directional link between nutrition and oral health, in that nutrition affects the health of oral tissues and saliva, and the health of the mouth may affect the foods consumed. Evidence suggests that a healthy diet generally has a positive impact on oral health in older adults. Although studies examining the direct link between oral health and protein intake in older adults are limited, some have explored the relationship via malnutrition, which is also prevalent among older adults. Protein-energy malnutrition (PEM) may be associated with poor oral health, dental caries, enamel hypoplasia, and salivary gland atrophy. This narrative review presents the theoretical evidence on the impact of dietary protein and amino acid composition on oral health, and their combined impact on overall health in older adults.

An amelogenin-based peptide hydrogel promoted the odontogenic differentiation of human dental pulp cells

Amelogenin can induce odontogenic differentiation of human dental pulp cells (HDPCs), which has great potential and advantages in dentine-pulp complex regeneration. However, the unstability of amelogenin limits its further application. This study constructed amelogenin self-assembling peptide hydrogels (L-gel or D-gel) by heating-cooling technique, investigated the effects of these hydrogels on the odontogenic differentiation of HDPCs and explored the underneath mechanism. The critical aggregation concentration, conformation, morphology, mechanical property and biological stability of the hydrogels were characterized, respectively. The effects of the hydrogels on the odontogenic differentiation of HDPCs were evaluated via alkaline phosphatase activity measurement, quantitative reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction, western blot, Alizarin red staining and scanning electron microscope. The mechanism was explored via signaling pathway experiments. Results showed that both the L-gel and D-gel stimulated the odontogenic differentiation of HDPCs on both Day 7 and Day 14, while the D-gel showed the highest enhancement effects. Meanwhile, the D-gel promoted calcium accumulation and mineralized matrix deposition on Day 21. The D-gel activated MAPK-ERK1/2 pathways in HDPCs and induced the odontogenic differentiation via ERK1/2 and transforming growth factor/smad pathways. Overall, our study demonstrated that the amelogenin peptide hydrogel stimulated the odontogenic differentiation and enhanced mineralization, which held big potential in the dentine-pulp complex regeneration.