BACKGROUND:Studies have shown that dental pulp cells can differentiate into odontoblastic like cells under certain stimulations, which is regulated by several signal pathways network. OBJECTIVE:To summarize the research progress of stimulating molecules and underlying molecular mechanisms of dental pulp cells’ odontoblastic differentiation. METHODS:A computer-based online search of CNKI and Wanfang databases was undertaken for the related Chinese articles dated from January 1998 to July 2014 with the keywords of“dental pulp cells”and“odontoblastic differentiation”in Chinese. Meanwhile, PubMed database was searched for the related English articles dated from January 1998 to July 2014 with the same keywords in English. Those with unrelated research subjects, or repetitive studies were excluded. Final y, 63 articles were reviewed. RESULTS AND CONCLUSION:Various stimuli, including bone morphogenetic protein,β-glycerophosphate and ascorbic acid, can stimulate dental pulp cells differentiation into odontoblastic like cells under certain conditions regulated by several signal pathways network. But odontoblastic differentiation is a complex process, and further research into stimulating molecules and underlying molecular mechanisms of dental pulp cells’ odontoblastic differentiation is significantly important for clinical applications of dental regenerative therapy.

Objective To evaluate the efficiency of thyroid ultrasound grading formulated by American Thyroid Association (ATA) and fine-needle aspiration (FNA) biopsy in diagnosing benign and malignant thyroid nodules.Methods A retrospective analysis of 357 thyroid nodules in 342 patients underwent surgical excision or FNA biopsy after thyroid ultrasound was performed.All ultrasonograms were graded according to ATA diagnosis guideline for thyroid nodule versi on 2015.The diagnostic efficiency of ATA grading and FNA biopsy were evaluated comparing with postoperative pathological results.Results There were 248 of 357 thyroid nodules confirmed with postoperative pathology,including 233 malignant and 15 benign nodules.The diagnostic accuracy,sensitivity,specificity,positive and negative predictive value of ATA guideline in diagnosis of malignant thyroid nodules was 88.31％ (219/248),90.99％ (213/233),46.67％ (7/15),96.36％ (212/220)and 25.00％ (7/28),respectively,while of FNA biopsy was 98.81％ (83/84),100％ (75/75),88.89 ％ (8/9),98.68％ (75/76) and 100％ (8/8),respectively.The area under the curve (AUC) of ROC was 0.653 and 0.944 for ATA grading and FNA biopsy,respectively (Z=2.397,P=0.017).Conclusion ATA guideline has high diagnostic value in differential diagnosis of thyroid nodules,while FNA may be more effective in diagnosis of thyroid nodules.

Objective The aim of this study was to investigate the value of ultrasound in diagnosis of benign and malignant thyroid nodules with rim calcification. Methods Sixty thyroid nodules with rim calcifications from Sun Yat-sen University Cancer center which were detected on ultrasound from January 2008 to December 2015 were included in this study, and all the thyroid nodules had pathological results. Ultrasonic features of thyroid nodules, including the size, border, internal echo, growth pattern, rear echo, interruption or inner sink of the rim calcification and hypoechoic soft tissue extrusion around rim calcification were analyzed. Results Thirty-seven nodules (61.7%) were confirmed to be benign, and twenty-three nodules (38.3%) were malignant. The ultrasonic features of interruption or inner sink of rim calcifications and hypoechoic soft tissue extrusion around rim calcification, were more often in malignant nodules than benign nodules. The sensitivity, specificity, the positive predictive values and the negative predictive values for interruption or inner sink of rim calcifications were 85.7%, 89.4%, 85.7% and 89.4%, respectively. The sensitivity, specificity, the positive predictive values and the negative predictive values for hypoechoic soft tissue extrusion around rim calcification were 81.3%, 94.4%, 92.9% and 85.0%, respectively. Internal hypoechogenicity was more frequently observed in the malignant nodules (82.6%) than in benign nodules (40.5%). The longitudinal growth pattern of thyroid was more frequently observed in malignant nodules (30.4%) than in benign nodules (2.7%). The differences of this two ultrasound features were statistically significant(χ2=9.958 and 9.440,both P<0.01).There were no significant differences in size,border and the rear echo between malignant and benign nodules (all P>0.05). Conclusion The interruption or inner sink of the rim calcification could be useful in differential diagnosis of thyroid nodules with rim calcification.