Oral wound healing and innate oral immune response studied in vitro

In this thesis we provide insight into the oral wound healing process and innate oral immune response. In summary:
• Chemokine receptors on gingiva fibroblasts were identified.
• CCR3, CCR4 and CCL28 are potential wound healing targets.
• Saliva is a potential wound healing therapeutic.
• Gingiva intrinsically has a higher wound healing potential than skin.
• TLR3 is a key innate immune receptor of both skin and oral keratinocytes, potentially playing a key role in localized irritation to metals.
• The expression of chemokines, stimulating immune cell migration, is differently regulated in gingiva than in skin.
• Inflammatory cytokine secretion by gingiva models is higher after commensal biofilm exposure than after pathogenic biofilm exposure, which may be explained by an immune evasion mechanism of the pathogenic biofilms.
We can conclude that: The superior wound healing qualities of oral mucosa compared to skin are caused by intrinsic characteristics of oral cells in combination with external stimulating factors, such as saliva; CCR3, CCR4, CCL28 and saliva should be investigated for their potential to stimulate wound healing; Not only the wound healing potential of oral mucosa is intrinsically different from skin, but also the innate immune response is differently regulated.
The major goal to develop organotypic gingiva models for the investigation of oral wound healing and interaction with oral biofilms and dental materials was achieved with the use of TERT-immortalized gingiva cells.