Effects of silicon on proliferation, differentiation and mineralization of human dental pulp cells \

PLEASE NOTE: This work is protected by copyright. Downloading is restricted to the BU community: please click Download and log in with a valid BU account to access. If you are the author of this work and would like to make it publicly available, please contact open-help@bu.edu.Includes index.Thesis (M.S.D.)--Boston University, Henry M. Goldman School of Dental Medicine, 2004 (Endodontics).Includes bibliography (leaves 89-95).Silicon’s importance in mineralization has been established since the 1970’s (Carlisle EM, 1975; Schwartz K, 1973). More recently, the role of silicon in osteogenesis has recently been studied and its role in mineralization found to be vital. While the mechanism remains unknown, Lyu et.al. demonstrated a significant positive correlation between the concentration of silicon, cell proliferation and mineralization rate (Lyu, 1999). Our current investigation seeks to determine if this correlation also occurs in odontoblasts. Many similarities between these two mineralizing cell types have been demonstrated including production of Type I collagen (and the relative lack of Type III), osteocalcin, dentin matrix protein (DMP1), and alkaline phosphatase activity (Nakashima M, 1991; Kasugai S, 1993; Boskey AL, 1995). Additionally, the mineralization processes of these cell types is similar in that they both begin with deposition of an organic extracellular matrix consisting mainly of Type I collagen with associated proteins and glycoproteins and subsequent mineralization by hydroxyapatite crystal formation (Yokose S, 2000). Therefore, it seems reasonable that factors influencing differentiation, proliferation and mineralization of osteoblasts may have similar effects on odontoblasts as well. If these effects can be demonstrated, the knowledge gained can be used to develop new treatment modalities and/or medicaments that may have significant clinical advantages