Detail

Keywords

Bone and Bones; Dentistry; Regenerative Medicine

Research group(s)

• Competence Center of Oral Biology
  Head: Reinhard Gruber
  Research Area: The Competence Center Oral Biology is involved in dental research and training. The work is done in an interdisciplinary team with national and international cooperation, integrating academia and industry.
  Members:
  Reinhard Gruber
  Zahra Kargarpour
  Layla Panahipour
  Ulrike Kuchler
  Balazs Feher
  Ulrike Resch

Research interests

Our research strategy is based on the implementation of the basic findings of cell and developmental biology, genetics, and material research in the development of causal treatment strategies in dentistry. For example, the regeneration of the periodontium or peri-implant changes remains a major challenge. Also, the regeneration of an inflamed dental pulp has not yet succeeded. The impact of saliva on the oral health is only partially understood. The correlations of age, systemic diseases such as osteoporosis and diabetes, and medications in the field of dentistry are another research priority.

Techniques, methods & infrastructure

We use basic in vitro cell culture techniques, with a focus on oral and bone cells such as periodontal fibroblasts, osteoblasts and osteoclasts. Based on a large panel of assays on proliferation, migration, differentiation, signaling and gene expression, we test the cellular response to various biomaterials, bone grafts, and various bioactive molecules. The research portfolio includes explant cultures and preclinical research, with the main focus on bone regeneration and the osseointegration of dental implants. Recently, we took advantage of µCT to investigate the skull anatomy of various mouse models by geometrics morphometrics.

Selected publications

1. Panahipour, L. et al., 2021. TGF-β Activity of a Demineralized Bone Matrix. International Journal of Molecular Sciences, 22(2), p.664. Available at: http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/ijms22020664.
2. Nasirzade, J. et al., 2020. Cleaning Teeth Reduces the Inflammatory Response of Macrophages to Acid Dentine Lysate. International Journal of Molecular Sciences, 21(23), p.9207. Available at: http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/ijms21239207.
3. Strauss, F.J. et al., 2020. miRNA‐21 deficiency impairs alveolar socket healing in mice. Journal of Periodontology, 91(12), pp.1664–1672. Available at: http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/JPER.19-0567.
4. Kargarpour, Z. et al., 2020. Liquid Platelet-Rich Fibrin and Heat-Coagulated Albumin Gel: Bioassays for TGF-β Activity. Materials, 13(16), p.3466. Available at: http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/MA13163466.
5. Gruber, R., 2019. Osteoimmunology: Inflammatory osteolysis and regeneration of the alveolar bone. Journal of Clinical Periodontology, 46, pp.52–69. Available at: http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/jcpe.13056.