Myofibroblast Gene Expression Profile after Tooth Extraction in the Rabbit
Simone Marconcini,
Maria Denaro,
Saverio Cosola,
Mario Gabriele,
Paolo Toti,
Eitan Mijiritsky,
Agnese Proietti,
Fulvio Basolo,
Enrica Giammarinaro,
Ugo Covani
Affiliations
Simone Marconcini
Tuscan Dental Institute, Versilia General Hospital, 55041 Lido di Camaiore, Italy
Maria Denaro
Department of Surgical, Medical, Molecular Pathology and Critical Area, University of Pisa, 56124 Pisa, Italy
Saverio Cosola
Tuscan Dental Institute, Versilia General Hospital, 55041 Lido di Camaiore, Italy
Mario Gabriele
Department of Surgical, Medical, Molecular Pathology and Critical Area, University of Pisa, 56124 Pisa, Italy
Paolo Toti
Tuscan Dental Institute, Versilia General Hospital, 55041 Lido di Camaiore, Italy
Eitan Mijiritsky
Department of Otolaryngology Head and Neck Surgery and Maxillofacial Surgery, Tel-Aviv Sourasky Medical Center, Sackler School of Medicine, Tel Aviv 61503, Israel
Agnese Proietti
Section of Surgical Pathology, University Hospital of Pisa, 56124 Pisa, Italy
Fulvio Basolo
Department of Surgical, Medical, Molecular Pathology and Critical Area, University of Pisa, 56124 Pisa, Italy
Enrica Giammarinaro
Tuscan Dental Institute, Versilia General Hospital, 55041 Lido di Camaiore, Italy
Ugo Covani
Department of Surgical, Medical, Molecular Pathology and Critical Area, University of Pisa, 56124 Pisa, Italy
After tooth extraction, the alveolar bone tends to shrink in volume, especially on the vestibular side. The role of myofibroblasts in bone remodeling has not been sufficiently investigated. The aim of the present study was to explore the gene expression related to myofibroblasts presence and activity during a 90-day healing period after tooth extraction. The study included 36 rabbits, and a single tooth extraction was performed on each rabbit. The extractive sockets were randomly distributed to natural healing or to scarification of the wound. The sacrifices were staggered in such a manner that animals contributed with sockets representing 2, 7, 15, 30, 60, and 90 days of healing. Nanostring technology was used to evaluate the expression of a wide panel consisting in 148 genes related to the activation, induction, and suppression of myofibroblasts, socket microenvironment, and autophagy. We found that the expression profile of this custom panel was time-related. The post-extractive socket was subjected to significant gene expression changes after 15 days: the genes involved in the induction of myofibroblasts were up-regulated in the first 15-day period and down-regulated during the rest of the follow-up. The study suggested that myofibroblasts play a major role in the immediate 15-day period following tooth extraction.
