TOKYO UNIVERSITY OF SCIENCE TAKAHASHI TSUJI'S LABORATORY

Perceptive potential of neurons entering the tissue of the bioengineered tooth

Perception of noxious stimulations such as mechanical stress and pain, are important for the protection and proper functions of teeth. Neurons in the trigeminal ganglion, which innervate the pulp and PDL, can detect these stress events and transduce the corresponding perceptions to the central nervous system. In our current experiments, we evaluated the responsiveness of nerve fibers in the pulp and PDL of the bioengineered tooth to induced noxious stimulations. Anti-neurofilament (NF)-immunoreactive nerve fibers were detected in the pulp, dentinal tubules, and PDL of the bioengineered tooth as in a normal tooth. We also found in our current analyses that the nerve fibers innervating both the pulp and PDL of the bioengineered tooth have perceptive potential for nociceptive stimulations and can transduce these events to the central nervous system (the medullary dorsal horn).