1.The concept of “osteoimmunomodulation” and its application in the development of “osteoimmune-smart” bone substitute materials
CHEN Zetao ; WANG Xiaoshuang ; ZHANG Linjun
Journal of Prevention and Treatment for Stomatological Diseases 2018;26(11):688-698
The traditional biological principle for developing bone biomaterials is to directly stimulate the osteogenic differentiation of osteoblastic lineage cells, the direct effector cells for osteogenesis. This strategy has been successful for the development of bone biomaterials. However, recent progress in bone biology has revealed the vital role of the local bone microenvironment, especially the immune environment, in controlling osteogenesis. Interdisciplinary osteoimmunology has found that the osteoimmune and skeletal systems are closely related, sharing numerous cytokines and regulators. In addition, immune cells play an important role in the physiological and pathological processes of the skeletal system, suggesting that neglecting the importance of the immune response is a major shortcoming of the traditional strategy. Based on this principle, we propose a novel “osteoimmunomodulation”-based strategy to meet the strict requirements of new-generation bone biomaterials: instead of directly regulating the osteogenic differentiation of osteoblastic lineage cells, we should focus more on manipulating the responses of immune cells and developing biomaterials to induce an immune environment that provides conditions that balance osteogenesis and osteoclastogenesis for optimal osseointegration. This article reviews the recent progress on osteoimmunology and immunomodulatory biomaterials for the generation of the “osteoimmunomodulation” concept. Additionally, the outcomes of “osteoimmunomodulation”-related studies have been summarized to guide the development of advanced “osteoimmune-smart” bone substitute materials.
2.Effect of platelet donation frequency on iron, cooper, and zinc content and superoxide dismutase activity
Li NING ; Yanyan ZHANG ; Zetao SUN ; Yuchuan WANG ; Xiubo DU ; Jiangyun WANG ; Liang LU ; Yunping XU
Chinese Journal of Blood Transfusion 2021;34(12):1388-1391
【Objective】 To study the effects of platelets donation frequency on iron, copper, zinc content and superoxide dismutase(SOD) activity in plasma of blood donors. 【Methods】 128 apheresis platelet donors from August 25, 2020 to August 25, 2021 in our center were divided into 4 groups according to the frequency of platelet donation: first-time donors(n=30) were enrolled as group 1, and donors with 2 to 7 donations(n=23), 8 to 14 donations(n=29), 15 to 24 donations(n=46) within the previous period were group 2, group 3 and group 4. All these donors were males, with the average age of 42 ± 8.3, and had not donated whole blood in the past two years. Inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry(ICP-MS) was used to detect the content of copper, iron and zinc in plasma of different groups of platelet donors. The SOD activity was detected by WST colorimetric kit. All data were statistically analyzed by SPSS 19.0 software. 【Results】 Significant differences in the content of iron and copper, but no in zinc, were noticed in donors of different groups(P<0.05). Multiple comparison showed that first-time blood donors presented significantly higher iron content but significantly lower copper content than those of donors with 15 to 24 blood donations per year(P<0.05), and no significant difference was found in iron and copper content among other groups(P>0.05). There was no significant difference in zinc content between every two groups(P>0.05). The SOD inhibition rate of blood donors in different groups was not significantly different. 【Conclusion】 The content of plasma iron, copper, and zinc and the SOD activity were not significantly affected if platelet donations were less than 15 times within a year. For those donated platelets more than 15 times within a year, the content of iron was found to decrease and copper to increase. It is suggested that platelet donations more than 15 times is correlated with the content of iron and copper in plasma of blood donors. Therefore, the proportion of iron-rich food should be appropriately increased in the daily diet for high-frequency(≥15 times per year) apheresis platelet donors after blood donation.
3."Brain-inspired intelligence" in dental implant decision-making
CHEN Zetao ; ZENG Peisheng ; LIU Haiwen ; SHI Mengru ; CHEN Shijie ; CHEN Zhuofan
Journal of Prevention and Treatment for Stomatological Diseases 2023;31(4):229-236
At present, implant surgery robots have basically achieved "surgical intelligence", but "brain-inspired intelligence" of robots is still in the stage of theory and exploration. The formulation of a clinical implantation plan depends on the timing of implantation, implantation area, bone condition, surgical procedure, patient factors, etc., which need to evaluate the corresponding clinical decision indicators and clinical pathways. Inspired by evidence-based medicine and the potential of big data and deep learning, combined with the data characteristics of clinical decision indicators and clinical pathways that can be quantitatively or qualitatively analyzed, this review simulates the cognitive behavior and neural mechanisms of the human brain and proposes a feasible brain-inspired intelligence scheme by predicting the decision indices and executing clinical pathways intelligently, that is, "select clinical indicators and clarify clinical pathways -- construct database -- use deep learning to intelligently predict decision indicators -- intelligent execution of clinical pathways -- brain-inspired intelligence of implant decision-making". Combined with the previous research results of our team, this review also describes the process of realization of brain-inspired intelligence for immediate implant timing decisions, providing an example of the comprehensive realization of brain-inspired intelligence of implant surgery robots in the future. In the future, how to excavate and summarize other clinical decision factors and select the best way to realize the automatic prediction of evidence-based clinical indicators and pathways and finally realize the complete intellectualization of clinical diagnosis and treatment processes will be one of the directions that dental clinicians need to strive for.
4.Research and development concept of barrier membranes based on “ immune microenvironment regulation”
CHEN Zetao ; LIN Yixiong ; YANG Jieting ; HUANG Baoxin ; CHEN Zhuofan
Journal of Prevention and Treatment for Stomatological Diseases 2021;29(8):505-514
Guided bone regeneration technology applied in alveolar bone defect regeneration is based on the barrier function and space maintenance of the barrier membrane. Therefore, traditional development strategies for barrier membranes focus on their physical barrier function, degradation characteristics and biocompatibility to avoid immunogenicity. However, not only does the barrier membrane passively block connective tissue, it is recognized as a “foreign body”that triggers a persistent host immune response, known as a foreign body reaction. The theories of osteoimmunology reveal a close relationship between the immune system and bone system and emphasize the role of immune cells in bone tissue-related pathophysiological processes. Based on these findings, we propose a novel development strategy for barrier membranes based on immune microenvironment regulation: by manipulating mechanical properties, surface properties and physiochemical properties, barrier membranes are endowed with an improved immunomodulation ability, which helps to regulate immune cell reactions to induce a favorable local immune microenvironment, thus coordinating osteogenesis and osteoclastogenesis as well as barrier membrane degradation to increase the efficiency of barrier membranes in GBR applications. In this paper, we review the development of barrier membranes and their close relationship to the immune microenvironment concerning bone regeneration and membrane degradation. Additionally, the outcomes of research on barrier membranes based on the regulation of the immune microenvironment have been summarized to improve the osteogenesis efficiency of barrier membranes and solve the problem of the regeneration and repair of bone defects, especially alveolar bone defects.