Regenerative therapy in dentistry has gained interest given the complexity to restore dental and periodontal tissues with inert materials. The best approach for regeneration requires three elements for restoring functions of affected or diseased organ tissues: cells, bioactive molecules, and scaffolds. This triad is capable of modulating the processes to replace lost or damaged tissues and restore function, as it has an impact on diverse cellular processes, influencing cell behavior positively to induce the complete restoration of function and morphology of such complex tissues. Hydrogels (HG) have shown advantages as scaffolds as they are soft and elastic three-dimensional (3D) networks formed from hydrophilic homopolymers, copolymers, or macromers. Besides simple or hybrid, HG show chemical, mechanical and biological activities such as the incorporation of cells in their structures, the retention of high-water content which enhances the transportation of cell nutrients and waste, and elastic and flexible characteristics that emulate the native extracellular matrix (ECM). HG can induce changes in cellular processes such as chemotaxis, proliferation, angiogenesis, biomineralization, and expression of specific tissue biomarkers, enhancing the regeneration process. Besides some of them have anti-inflammatory and anti-bacterial effects. This review aims to show an extensive overview of the most used hydrogels in tissue engineering, emphasizing those that are studied for the regeneration of oral tissues, their biological effects, and their clinical implications. Even though most of the HG are still under investigation, some of them have been studied in vitro and in vivo with outstanding results that may lead to preclinical studies. Besides there are HG that have shown their efficacy in patients such as hyaluronan HG that enhances the healing of gingival tissue.

Interleukin-10 (IL-10) gene polymorphisms have been associated with severity and outcomes in patients with respiratory and nonrespiratory viral infections. The aim of this study was to assess whether rs1800871 and rs1800872 polymorphisms of IL-10 gene are associated with the clinical outcomes of COVID-19 in a Mexican population. Study subjects were 193 COVID-19 patients. The genotyping was carried out with real-time PCR and serum IL-10 levels were measured with enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. Logistic regression analysis was used for analysis association with clinical outcomes. There was no evidence of an association between alleles, genotypes, or haplotypes frequencies between patient groups according to severity and outcomes. The rs1800871 and rs1800872 polymorphisms might not be genetic risk factors for severity and mortality for COVID-19 in Mexican mestizos patients from northwest Mexico.

Extracellular matrix (ECM) is a rich network of proteins and proteoglycans that has proved to be very useful in tissue regeneration. Porcine ECM has been proposed as a biological scaffold, and urinary bladder matrix (UBM) has demonstrated superior biological properties; however, its use in human treatment requires ensuring that it is DNA free. Several protocols have been used for decellularization and to demonstrate the absence of DNA, but until now, a porcine housekeeping gene for quantifying DNA by real-time quantitative PCR (qPCR) has been limiting. The aim of this study was to propose a protocol to quantify the DNA content of decellularized UBM by qPCR for the beta-actin gene (ACTB). A total of 20 porcine bladders were used, and each bladder was divided into three pieces: one as a control and the others decellularized with either SDS or Triton X-100 detergent. The presence of DNA was assessed by histology, spectrophotometry, conventional PCR, and qPCR for the ACTB. Histological analysis demonstrated the absence of nuclei using both protocols. Spectrophotometrical evaluation resulted in DNA concentrations of 1561.4 ± 357.1 and 1211.9 ± 635.2 ng of DNA/mg dry weight after the SDS and Triton X-100 protocols, respectively. DNA was not detected in any protocol by conventional PCR. In contrast, using qPCR, we found 3.9 ± 2.8 ng of DNA/mg dry weight in the Triton X-100 protocol. Therefore, the use of qPCR is a reliable method to quantify residual DNA content after decellularization procedures.

Background: Preeclampsia (PE) is a syndromic disorder that affects 2% to 8% of pregnancies and is diagnosed principally when hypertension appears in the second-d half of pregnancy. WHO estimates the incidence of PE to be seven times higher in developing countries than in developed countries. Severe preeclampsia/eclampsia is one of the most important causes of maternal mortality, associated with 50,000 to 100,000 annual deaths globally as well as serious fetal and neonatal morbidity and mortality, especially in developing countries. Even though evidence from family-based studies suggest PE has a heritable component, its etiology, and specific genetic contributions remain unclear. Many studies examining the genetic factors contributing to PE have been conducted, most of them are focused on single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs). Given that PE has a very important inflammatory component, is mandatory to examine cytokine-SNPs for elucidating all mechanisms involved in this pathology. In this review, we describe the most important cytokine-polymorphisms associated with the onset and development of PE. We aim to provide current and relevant evidence in this regard. Methods: We searched English databases such as PubMed and the National Center for Biotechnology Information. The publication time of the papers was set from the establishment of the databases to February 2022. All studies about Th1/Th2/Th17 cytokines polymorphisms were included in our study. Results: SNPs in IFN-γ, TNF-α, IL-4, IL-6, IL-10, IL-17A, and IL-22 are associated with the development, early-onset and severity of PE, being the Th1/Th2/Th17 responses affected by the presence of these SNPs. Conclusions: The changes in Th1/Th2/Th17 response modify processes such as placentation, control of inflammation, and vascular function. Nonetheless, association studies have shown different results depending on sample size, diagnostic, and population.

Colorectal cancer (CRC) is one of the most frequent types of malignancies and one of the major causes of cancer-related death worldwide. Sex-determining region Y (SRY)-box 9 protein (SOX9) is a member of the SOX family of transcription factors which are involved in the regulation of differentiation and development. Recently, several reports suggest an important role of SOX9 in tumorigenesis since its overexpression correlates with tumor progression and poor outcome in several types of cancer; however, its role in CRC is not clear until now. Therefore, in this work, we searched for novel SOX9-regulated genes involved in cell survival of CRC. We silenced SOX9 in the poorly differentiated HCT-116 cell line, using a specific siRNA, to identify differential expressed genes by DNA microarrays and analyzed the role or candidate genes in apoptosis and autophagy. Transcriptome analysis showed that diverse cellular pathways, associated with CRC carcinogenesis such as Wnt/β-catenin, MAPK, TGF-β, and mTOR, were modulated after SOX9 silencing. Interestingly, we found that SOX9 silencing promotes downregulation of BCL2L1 and overexpression of CASP3, proteins related to apoptosis, which was further confirmed in SW-480, a moderated-differentiated cell line, but not in HT-29, well-differentiated cell line. Moreover, inhibition of BCL2L1 by ABT-737 (BH3 mimetic) in SOX9-silenced HCT-116 cells resulted in an increased apoptosis percentage. However, downregulation of BCL2L1 was not enough to induce autophagy. This is the first report, suggesting that cell survival in poorly and moderated-differentiated CRC cells lines is regulated by SOX9/BCL2L1 axis, but not in well-differentiated cell lines.