Novel strategy for dental caries by physiologic dentin regeneration with CPNE7 peptide

Objective: CPNE7-derived functional peptide (CPNE7-DP) has been introduced as a bioactive therapeutics for dentin diseases. CPNE7-DP regenerates tubular dentin on the pulpal side and occlude dentinal tubules. CPNE7-DP was capable to treat dentin hypersensitivity typically associated with dentinal wear at the neck of the tooth. However, the role of CPNE7-DP in another common dentin disease, dental caries, remains uninvestigated. In this study, we evaluated the potential application of CPNE7-DP in dentin caries using an experimental dentin caries model in rats. Design: The stability of CPNE7-DP in caries-like environments including pathologic bacteria of caries or low pH was tested. We established a nutrition-time/hyposalivation-based dental caries rat model by inoculating caries -inducing bacteria and diet for sufficient time. Glycopyrrolate has been treated to induce reversible hypo -salivation for accelerating caries progression. Then the tubular dentin regeneration was investigated with his-tologic methods. Also, modulation of inflammation or autophagy by CPNE7-DP was investigated with marker gene expression in human dental pulp cells (hDPCs) and immunohistochemistry. Results: CPNE7-DP was stable with caries-inducing bacteria and low pH. Establishment of dentin caries was confirmed with radiographic and histologic evaluation. CPNE7-DP regenerated a substantial amount of tubular tertiary dentin and alleviated the pulp inflammation of dentin caries. Under inflammatory conditions, CPNE7-DP reduced the expression of inflammatory cytokines. These phenomena could be the consequence of the modu-lation of autophagy by CPNE7-DP, which reactivates inflamed odontoblasts. Conclusions: Overall, CPNE7-DP, which repairs caries through physiological dentin regeneration, might help overcoming the limitations of current restorative caries treatments.

Automated summary

This study evaluated the potential application of CPNE7-derived functional peptide (CPNE7-DP) in dentin caries. The results showed that CPNE7-DP was stable in caries-like environments and regenerated tubular tertiary dentin, alleviating inflammation and reducing the expression of inflammatory cytokines. CPNE7-DP may help overcome the limitations of current restorative caries treatments.