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Moniz T, Lima SAC, Reis S. Protocol for the Isolation of Stratum Corneum from Pig Ear Skin: Evaluation of the Trypsin Digestion Conditions. Methods Protoc 2021; 4:mps4040080. [PMID: 34842773 PMCID: PMC8628882 DOI: 10.3390/mps4040080] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/16/2021] [Revised: 11/01/2021] [Accepted: 11/01/2021] [Indexed: 11/22/2022] Open
Abstract
Stratum corneum (SC) represents the outermost layer of the skin, being an effective barrier against the entry of molecules and pathogens. Skin research has given particular focus to SC as it hampers effective drug delivery for cosmetical and therapeutical purposes. Following recommendations to develop alternative models to animals, the SC isolated from skin obtained from medical procedures or from pigs has gained extensive attention. Yet, there is still missing a standard and simple procedure accepted within the scientific community to avoid application of different isolated SC methodologies, a fact that may hamper progress in skin research. Considering this challenge, the present study evaluated different experimental conditions aiming to establish a useful and sustainable solvent-free procedure for the obtention of a realistic SC model. The studied trypsin digestion parameters included concentration, incubation period and temperature. Isolated SC was characterized using histological analysis and calcein’s permeability, after the procedure and during a 6-week storage period. Data recommend trypsin digestion at 4 °C for 20 h as the most effective procedure to isolate SC from pig ear skin. This work contributes to standardize the SC isolation procedure, and to obtain a valuable and reliable SC mimetic model for skin drug development.
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Xu L, Zu T, Li T, Li M, Mi J, Bai F, Liu G, Wen J, Li H, Brakebusch C, Wang X, Wu X. ATF3 downmodulates its new targets IFI6 and IFI27 to suppress the growth and migration of tongue squamous cell carcinoma cells. PLoS Genet 2021; 17:e1009283. [PMID: 33539340 PMCID: PMC7888615 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pgen.1009283] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/15/2020] [Revised: 02/17/2021] [Accepted: 11/18/2020] [Indexed: 01/16/2023] Open
Abstract
Activating transcription factor 3 (ATF3) is a key transcription factor involved in regulating cellular stress responses, with different expression levels and functions in different tissues. ATF3 has also been shown to play crucial roles in regulating tumor development and progression, however its potential role in oral squamous cell carcinomas has not been fully explored. In this study, we examined biopsies of tongue squamous cell carcinomas (TSCCs) and found that the nuclear expression level of ATF3 correlated negatively with the differentiation status of TSCCs, which was validated by analysis of the ATGC database. By using gain- or loss- of function analyses of ATF3 in four different TSCC cell lines, we demonstrated that ATF3 negatively regulates the growth and migration of human TSCC cells in vitro. RNA-seq analysis identified two new downstream targets of ATF3, interferon alpha inducible proteins 6 (IFI6) and 27 (IFI27), which were upregulated in ATF3-deleted cells and were downregulated in ATF3-overexpressing cells. Chromatin immunoprecipitation assays showed that ATF3 binds the promoter regions of the IFI6 and IFI27 genes. Both IFI6 and IFI27 were highly expressed in TSCC biopsies and knockdown of either IFI6 or IFI27 in TSCC cells blocked the cell growth and migration induced by the deletion of ATF3. Conversely, overexpression of either IFI6 or IFI27 counteracted the inhibition of TSCC cell growth and migration induced by the overexpression of ATF3. Finally, an in vivo study in mice confirmed those in vitro findings. Our study suggests that ATF3 plays an anti-tumor function in TSCCs through the negative regulation of its downstream targets, IFI6 and IFI27. Activating transcription factor 3 (ATF3), a stress response gene, has been shown to play either tumor promoting or tumor suppressing functions depending on the type of tumor cell and the stromal context. Here we discovered that ATF3 plays an anti-tumor role in tongue squamous cell carcinoma (TSCC) cells through the transcriptional suppression of its new downstream targets interferon alpha inducible proteins 6 (IFI6) and 27 (IFI27). This finding contributes to understanding how ATF3, a transcriptional repressor, can target specific downstream genes in different tumor cells to play anti-tumor or pro-tumor functions. A thorough understanding of ATF3 functions and its downstream signaling pathways provides a potential approach to develop new therapeutics for the treatment of tumors such as TSCCs.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lin Xu
- Department of Tissue Engineering and Regeneration, School and Hospital of Stomatology, Cheeloo College of Medicine, Shandong University & Shandong Key Laboratory of Oral Tissue Regeneration and Shandong Engineering Laboratory for Dental Materials and Oral Tissue Regeneration, Jinan, Shandong, China
- Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, School and Hospital of Stomatology, Cheeloo College of Medicine, Shandong University & Shandong Key Laboratory of Oral Tissue Regeneration & Shandong Engineering Laboratory for Dental Materials and Oral Tissue Regeneration, Shandong, China
- Department of Orthodontics, Liaocheng People’s Hospital, Liaocheng, Shandong, China
- Precision Biomedical Key Laboratory, Liaocheng People’s Hospital, Liaocheng, Shandong, China
| | - Tingjian Zu
- Department of Tissue Engineering and Regeneration, School and Hospital of Stomatology, Cheeloo College of Medicine, Shandong University & Shandong Key Laboratory of Oral Tissue Regeneration and Shandong Engineering Laboratory for Dental Materials and Oral Tissue Regeneration, Jinan, Shandong, China
- School of Stomatology, Shandong First Medical University & Shandong Academy of Medical Sciences, Tai’an, Shandong, China
| | - Tao Li
- Department of Tissue Engineering and Regeneration, School and Hospital of Stomatology, Cheeloo College of Medicine, Shandong University & Shandong Key Laboratory of Oral Tissue Regeneration and Shandong Engineering Laboratory for Dental Materials and Oral Tissue Regeneration, Jinan, Shandong, China
- Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, School and Hospital of Stomatology, Cheeloo College of Medicine, Shandong University & Shandong Key Laboratory of Oral Tissue Regeneration & Shandong Engineering Laboratory for Dental Materials and Oral Tissue Regeneration, Shandong, China
| | - Min Li
- Precision Biomedical Key Laboratory, Liaocheng People’s Hospital, Liaocheng, Shandong, China
| | - Jun Mi
- Department of Tissue Engineering and Regeneration, School and Hospital of Stomatology, Cheeloo College of Medicine, Shandong University & Shandong Key Laboratory of Oral Tissue Regeneration and Shandong Engineering Laboratory for Dental Materials and Oral Tissue Regeneration, Jinan, Shandong, China
| | - Fuxiang Bai
- Department of Tissue Engineering and Regeneration, School and Hospital of Stomatology, Cheeloo College of Medicine, Shandong University & Shandong Key Laboratory of Oral Tissue Regeneration and Shandong Engineering Laboratory for Dental Materials and Oral Tissue Regeneration, Jinan, Shandong, China
| | - Guanyi Liu
- Department of Tissue Engineering and Regeneration, School and Hospital of Stomatology, Cheeloo College of Medicine, Shandong University & Shandong Key Laboratory of Oral Tissue Regeneration and Shandong Engineering Laboratory for Dental Materials and Oral Tissue Regeneration, Jinan, Shandong, China
| | - Jie Wen
- Department of Tissue Engineering and Regeneration, School and Hospital of Stomatology, Cheeloo College of Medicine, Shandong University & Shandong Key Laboratory of Oral Tissue Regeneration and Shandong Engineering Laboratory for Dental Materials and Oral Tissue Regeneration, Jinan, Shandong, China
| | - Hui Li
- Department of Hematology, Southwest Hospital, Third Military Medical University, Chongqing, China
| | - Cord Brakebusch
- Biotech Research and Innovation Centre (BRIC), University of Copenhagen, Ole Maaløes Vej 5, Copenhagen, Denmark
| | - Xuxia Wang
- Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, School and Hospital of Stomatology, Cheeloo College of Medicine, Shandong University & Shandong Key Laboratory of Oral Tissue Regeneration & Shandong Engineering Laboratory for Dental Materials and Oral Tissue Regeneration, Shandong, China
- * E-mail: (XW); (XW)
| | - Xunwei Wu
- Department of Tissue Engineering and Regeneration, School and Hospital of Stomatology, Cheeloo College of Medicine, Shandong University & Shandong Key Laboratory of Oral Tissue Regeneration and Shandong Engineering Laboratory for Dental Materials and Oral Tissue Regeneration, Jinan, Shandong, China
- * E-mail: (XW); (XW)
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Zhang Q, Wen J, Liu C, Ma C, Bai F, Leng X, Chen Z, Xie Z, Mi J, Wu X. Early-stage bilayer tissue-engineered skin substitute formed by adult skin progenitor cells produces an improved skin structure in vivo. Stem Cell Res Ther 2020; 11:407. [PMID: 32948249 PMCID: PMC7501683 DOI: 10.1186/s13287-020-01924-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/15/2020] [Revised: 07/27/2020] [Accepted: 09/03/2020] [Indexed: 12/28/2022] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND In recent years, significant progress has been made in developing highly complex tissue-engineered skin substitutes (TESSs) for wound healing. However, the lack of skin appendages, such as hair follicles and sweat glands, and the time required, are two major limitations that hinder its broad application in the clinic. Therefore, it is necessary to develop a competent TESS in a short time to meet the needs for clinical applications. METHODS Adult scalp dermal progenitor cells and epidermal stem cells together with type I collagen as a scaffold material were used to reconstitute bilayer TESSs in vitro. TESSs at 4 different culture times (5, 9, 14, and 21 days) were collected and then grafted onto full-thickness wounds created in the dorsal skin of athymic nude/nude mice. The skin specimens formed from grafted TESSs were collected 4 and 8 weeks later and then evaluated for their structure, cell organization, differentiation status, vascularization, and formation of appendages by histological analysis, immunohistochemistry, and immunofluorescent staining. RESULTS Early-stage bilayer TESSs after transplantation had a better efficiency of grafting. A normal structure of stratified epidermis containing multiple differentiated layers of keratinocytes was formed in all grafts from both early-stage and late-stage TESSs, but higher levels of the proliferation marker Ki-67 and the epidermal progenitor marker p63 were found in the epidermis formed from early-stage TESSs. Interestingly, the transplantation of early-stage TESSs produced a thicker dermis that contained more vimentin- and CD31-positive cells, and importantly, hair follicle formation was only observed in the skin grafted from early-stage TESSs. Finally, early-stage TESSs expressed high levels of p63 but had low expression levels of genes involved in the activation of the apoptotic pathway compared to the late-stage TESSs in vitro. CONCLUSIONS Early-stage bilayer TESSs reconstituted from skin progenitor cells contained more competent cells with less activation of the apoptotic pathway and produced a better skin structure, including hair follicles associated with sebaceous glands, after transplantation, which should potentially provide better wound healing when applied in the clinic in the future.
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Affiliation(s)
- Qun Zhang
- Department of Tissue Engineering and Regeneration, School and Hospital of Stomatology, Cheeloo College of Medicine, Shandong University & Shandong Key Laboratory of Oral Tissue Regeneration & Shandong Engineering Laboratory for Dental Materials and Oral Tissue Regeneration, No.44-1 Wenhua Road West, Jinan, Shandong, China
| | - Jie Wen
- Department of Tissue Engineering and Regeneration, School and Hospital of Stomatology, Cheeloo College of Medicine, Shandong University & Shandong Key Laboratory of Oral Tissue Regeneration & Shandong Engineering Laboratory for Dental Materials and Oral Tissue Regeneration, No.44-1 Wenhua Road West, Jinan, Shandong, China
- Shandong Provincial Key Laboratory of Animal Cells and Developmental Biology, School of Life Science, Shandong University, Qingdao, China
| | - Chang Liu
- Department of Tissue Engineering and Regeneration, School and Hospital of Stomatology, Cheeloo College of Medicine, Shandong University & Shandong Key Laboratory of Oral Tissue Regeneration & Shandong Engineering Laboratory for Dental Materials and Oral Tissue Regeneration, No.44-1 Wenhua Road West, Jinan, Shandong, China
| | - Chuan Ma
- Department of Tissue Engineering and Regeneration, School and Hospital of Stomatology, Cheeloo College of Medicine, Shandong University & Shandong Key Laboratory of Oral Tissue Regeneration & Shandong Engineering Laboratory for Dental Materials and Oral Tissue Regeneration, No.44-1 Wenhua Road West, Jinan, Shandong, China
| | - Fuxiang Bai
- Department of Tissue Engineering and Regeneration, School and Hospital of Stomatology, Cheeloo College of Medicine, Shandong University & Shandong Key Laboratory of Oral Tissue Regeneration & Shandong Engineering Laboratory for Dental Materials and Oral Tissue Regeneration, No.44-1 Wenhua Road West, Jinan, Shandong, China
| | - Xue Leng
- Department of Tissue Engineering and Regeneration, School and Hospital of Stomatology, Cheeloo College of Medicine, Shandong University & Shandong Key Laboratory of Oral Tissue Regeneration & Shandong Engineering Laboratory for Dental Materials and Oral Tissue Regeneration, No.44-1 Wenhua Road West, Jinan, Shandong, China
| | - Zhihong Chen
- Qilu Children's Hospital of Shandong University, Jinan, China
| | - Zhiwei Xie
- Department of Tissue Engineering and Regeneration, School and Hospital of Stomatology, Cheeloo College of Medicine, Shandong University & Shandong Key Laboratory of Oral Tissue Regeneration & Shandong Engineering Laboratory for Dental Materials and Oral Tissue Regeneration, No.44-1 Wenhua Road West, Jinan, Shandong, China
- Department of Stomatology, Shengli Oilfield Center Hospital, Dongying, Shandong, China
| | - Jun Mi
- Department of Tissue Engineering and Regeneration, School and Hospital of Stomatology, Cheeloo College of Medicine, Shandong University & Shandong Key Laboratory of Oral Tissue Regeneration & Shandong Engineering Laboratory for Dental Materials and Oral Tissue Regeneration, No.44-1 Wenhua Road West, Jinan, Shandong, China
| | - Xunwei Wu
- Department of Tissue Engineering and Regeneration, School and Hospital of Stomatology, Cheeloo College of Medicine, Shandong University & Shandong Key Laboratory of Oral Tissue Regeneration & Shandong Engineering Laboratory for Dental Materials and Oral Tissue Regeneration, No.44-1 Wenhua Road West, Jinan, Shandong, China.
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Zhou Q, Kim SH, Pérez-Lorenzo R, Liu C, Huang M, Dotto GP, Zheng B, Wu X. Phenformin Promotes Keratinocyte Differentiation via the Calcineurin/NFAT Pathway. J Invest Dermatol 2020; 141:152-163. [PMID: 32619504 DOI: 10.1016/j.jid.2020.05.114] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/28/2019] [Revised: 03/30/2020] [Accepted: 05/01/2020] [Indexed: 12/19/2022]
Abstract
Phenformin is a drug in the biguanide class that was previously used to treat type 2 diabetes. We have reported the antitumor activities of phenformin to enhance the efficacy of BRAF-MAPK kinase-extracellular signal-regulated kinase pathway inhibition and to inhibit myeloid-derived suppressor cells in various melanoma models. Here we demonstrate that phenformin suppresses tumor growth and promotes keratinocyte differentiation in the 7,12-dimethylbenz[a]anthracene/12-O-tetradecanoylphorbol-13-acetate two-stage skin carcinogenesis mouse model. Moreover, phenformin enhances the suspension-induced differentiation of mouse and human keratinocytes. Mechanistically, phenformin induces the nuclear translocation of NFATc1 in keratinocytes in an AMPK-dependent manner. Pharmacologic or genetic inhibition of calcineurin and NFAT signaling reverses the effects of phenformin on keratinocyte differentiation. Taken together, our study reveals an antitumor activity of phenformin to promote keratinocyte differentiation that warrants future translational efforts to repurpose phenformin for the treatment of cutaneous squamous cell carcinomas.
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Affiliation(s)
- Qian Zhou
- Department of Tissue Engineering and Regeneration, School and Hospital of Stomatology, Cheeloo College of Medicine, Shandong University, Jinan, China; Shandong Key Laboratory of Oral Tissue Regeneration, Jinan, China; Shandong Engineering Laboratory for Dental Materials and Oral Tissue Regeneration, Jinan, China; Key Laboratory of Chemical Biology (Ministry of Education), School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Shandong University, Jinan, China
| | - Sun Hye Kim
- Cutaneous Biology Research Center, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts, USA
| | - Rolando Pérez-Lorenzo
- Department of Dermatology, Columbia University Medical Center, New York, New York, USA
| | - Chang Liu
- Department of Tissue Engineering and Regeneration, School and Hospital of Stomatology, Cheeloo College of Medicine, Shandong University, Jinan, China; Shandong Key Laboratory of Oral Tissue Regeneration, Jinan, China; Shandong Engineering Laboratory for Dental Materials and Oral Tissue Regeneration, Jinan, China
| | - Man Huang
- Department of Mathematics and Statistics, Boston University, Boston, Massachusetts, USA
| | - Gian Paolo Dotto
- Cutaneous Biology Research Center, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts, USA; Department of Biochemistry, University of Lausanne, Epalinges, Switzerland
| | - Bin Zheng
- Cutaneous Biology Research Center, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts, USA
| | - Xunwei Wu
- Department of Tissue Engineering and Regeneration, School and Hospital of Stomatology, Cheeloo College of Medicine, Shandong University, Jinan, China; Shandong Key Laboratory of Oral Tissue Regeneration, Jinan, China; Shandong Engineering Laboratory for Dental Materials and Oral Tissue Regeneration, Jinan, China; Cutaneous Biology Research Center, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts, USA.
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Su Y, Wen J, Zhu J, Xie Z, Liu C, Ma C, Zhang Q, Xu X, Wu X. Pre-aggregation of scalp progenitor dermal and epidermal stem cells activates the WNT pathway and promotes hair follicle formation in in vitro and in vivo systems. Stem Cell Res Ther 2019; 10:403. [PMID: 31856904 PMCID: PMC6921573 DOI: 10.1186/s13287-019-1504-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/08/2019] [Revised: 11/12/2019] [Accepted: 11/20/2019] [Indexed: 02/06/2023] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Billions of dollars are invested annually by pharmaceutical companies in search of new options for treating hair loss conditions; nevertheless, the challenge remains. One major limitation to hair follicle research is the lack of effective and efficient drug screening systems using human cells. Organoids, three-dimensional in vitro structures derived from stem cells, provide new opportunities for studying organ development, tissue regeneration, and disease pathogenesis. The present study focuses on the formation of human hair follicle organoids. METHODS Scalp-derived dermal progenitor cells mixed with foreskin-derived epidermal stem cells at a 2:1 ratio aggregated in suspension to form hair follicle-like organoids, which were confirmed by immunostaining of hair follicle markers and by molecular dye labeling assays to analyze dermal and epidermal cell organization in those organoids. The hair-forming potential of organoids was examined using an in vivo transplantation assay. RESULTS Pre-aggregation of dermal and epidermal cells enhanced hair follicle formation in vivo. In vitro pre-aggregation initiated the interactions of epidermal and dermal progenitor cells resulting in activation of the WNT pathway and the formation of pear-shape structures, named type I aggregates. Cell-tracing analysis showed that the dermal and epidermal cells self-assembled into distinct epidermal and dermal compartments. Histologically, the type I aggregates expressed early hair follicle markers, suggesting the hair peg-like phase of hair follicle morphogenesis. The addition of recombinant WNT3a protein to the medium enhanced the formation of these aggregates, and the Wnt effect could be blocked by the WNT inhibitor, IWP2. CONCLUSIONS In summary, our system supports the rapid formation of a large number of hair follicle organoids (type I aggregates). This system provides a platform for studying epithelial-mesenchymal interactions, for assessing inductive hair stem cells and for screening compounds that support hair follicle regeneration.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yiqun Su
- Department of Tissue Engineering and Regeneration, School and Hospital of Stomatology, Shandong University, Jinan, China
- Shandong Provincial Key Laboratory of Oral Tissue Regeneration & Shandong Engineering Laboratory for Dental Materials and Oral Tissue Regeneration, Jinan, China
- Department of Implantology, School and Hospital of Stomatology, Shandong University, Jinan, China
| | - Jie Wen
- Department of Tissue Engineering and Regeneration, School and Hospital of Stomatology, Shandong University, Jinan, China
- Shandong Provincial Key Laboratory of Oral Tissue Regeneration & Shandong Engineering Laboratory for Dental Materials and Oral Tissue Regeneration, Jinan, China
| | - Junrong Zhu
- Women and Children's Hospital of Hubei Province, Wuhan, Hubei, China
| | - Zhiwei Xie
- Department of Tissue Engineering and Regeneration, School and Hospital of Stomatology, Shandong University, Jinan, China
- Shandong Provincial Key Laboratory of Oral Tissue Regeneration & Shandong Engineering Laboratory for Dental Materials and Oral Tissue Regeneration, Jinan, China
- Department of Stomatology, Shengli Oilfield Central Hospital, Dongying, Shandong, China
| | - Chang Liu
- Department of Tissue Engineering and Regeneration, School and Hospital of Stomatology, Shandong University, Jinan, China
- Shandong Provincial Key Laboratory of Oral Tissue Regeneration & Shandong Engineering Laboratory for Dental Materials and Oral Tissue Regeneration, Jinan, China
| | - Chuan Ma
- Department of Tissue Engineering and Regeneration, School and Hospital of Stomatology, Shandong University, Jinan, China
- Shandong Provincial Key Laboratory of Oral Tissue Regeneration & Shandong Engineering Laboratory for Dental Materials and Oral Tissue Regeneration, Jinan, China
| | - Qun Zhang
- Department of Tissue Engineering and Regeneration, School and Hospital of Stomatology, Shandong University, Jinan, China
- Shandong Provincial Key Laboratory of Oral Tissue Regeneration & Shandong Engineering Laboratory for Dental Materials and Oral Tissue Regeneration, Jinan, China
| | - Xin Xu
- Shandong Provincial Key Laboratory of Oral Tissue Regeneration & Shandong Engineering Laboratory for Dental Materials and Oral Tissue Regeneration, Jinan, China.
- Department of Implantology, School and Hospital of Stomatology, Shandong University, Jinan, China.
- School of Stomatology, Shandong University, 44-1 Wenhua West Road, Jinan, 250014, Shandong, China.
| | - Xunwei Wu
- Department of Tissue Engineering and Regeneration, School and Hospital of Stomatology, Shandong University, Jinan, China.
- Shandong Provincial Key Laboratory of Oral Tissue Regeneration & Shandong Engineering Laboratory for Dental Materials and Oral Tissue Regeneration, Jinan, China.
- School of Stomatology, Shandong University, 44-1 Wenhua West Road, Jinan, 250014, Shandong, China.
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