masterThesis
Adipokines in dental pulp: physiological, pathological and potential therapeutic roles
Fecha
2022-02-11Autor
Gavidia Pazmiño, Jonathan Francisco
Bravo Guapisaca, María Isabel
Institución
Resumen
Background: Hundreds of adipokines have been identified, and their extensive range of
endocrine functions—regulating distant organs such as oral tissues—and local
autocrine/paracrine roles have been studied. In dentistry, however, adipokines are poorly
known proteins in the dental pulp; few of them have been studied despite their large
number. This study reviews recent advances in the investigation of dental-pulp
adipokines, with an emphasis on their roles in inflammatory processes and their potential
therapeutic applications.
Highlights: The most recently identified adipokines in dental pulp include leptin,
adiponectin, resistin, ghrelin, oncostatin, chemerin, and visfatin. They have numerous
physiological and pathological functions in the pulp tissue: they are closely related to pulp
inflammatory mechanisms and actively participate in cell differentiation, mineralization,
angiogenesis, and immune-system modulation.
Conclusion: Adipokines have potential clinical applications in regenerative endodontics
and as biomarkers or targets for the pharmacological management of inflammatory and
degenerative processes in dental pulp. A promising direction for the development of new
therapies may be the use of agonists/antagonists to modulate the expression of the most
studied adipokines.