Abstract
The GH/IGF axis is a major regulator of bone formation and resorption and is essential to the achievement of normal skeleton growth and homeostasis. Beyond its key role in bone physiology, the GH/IGF axis has also major pleiotropic endocrine and autocrine/paracrine effects on mineralized tissues throughout life. This article aims to review the literature on GH, IGFs, IGF binding proteins, and their respective receptors in dental tissues, both epithelium (enamel) and mesenchyme (dentin, pulp, and tooth-supporting periodontium). The present review re-examines and refines the expression of the elements of the GH/IGF axis in oral tissues and their in vivo and in vitro mechanisms of action in different mineralizing cell types of the dento-alveolar complex including ameloblasts, odontoblasts, pulp cells, cementoblasts, periodontal ligament cells, and jaw osteoblasts focusing on cell-specific activities. Together, these data emphasize the determinant role of the GH/IGF axis in physiological and pathological development, morphometry, and aging of the teeth, the periodontium, and oral bones in humans, rodents, and other vertebrates. These advancements in oral biology have elicited an enormous interest among investigators to translate the fundamental discoveries on the GH/IGF axis into innovative strategies for targeted oral tissue therapies with local treatments, associated or not with materials, for orthodontics and the repair and regeneration of the dento-alveolar complex and oral bones.
Highlights
GH/insulin like growth factor (IGF) axis or somatotropic axis consists of growth hormone (GH), insulin-like growth factors (IGFs), their receptors (GHR and IGF-1R, respectively), and IGF binding proteins (IGFBPs)
Clinical observations report that many patients with GH dysregulations who are suffering from dwarfism or acromegaly, have tooth and cranio-facial bone dysmorphology underlying a particular role of the GH/IGF axis in facial mineralized tissues
While GH/IGF/IGFBP endocrine and paracrine actions in bone are well documented for growth and ageing in axial and appendicular skeleton, the effects of these molecules have been much less investigated in the cranio-facial bones, and even less in the dento-alveolar complex where dental and bone cells are interacting
Summary
GH/IGF axis or somatotropic axis consists of growth hormone (GH), insulin-like growth factors (IGFs), their receptors (GHR and IGF-1R, respectively), and IGF binding proteins (IGFBPs). The GH/IGF axis has a strong influence on the growth and metabolism of craniofacial bones and dental tissues reviewed here. Clinical observations report that many patients with GH dysregulations who are suffering from dwarfism or acromegaly, have tooth and cranio-facial bone dysmorphology underlying a particular role of the GH/IGF axis in facial mineralized tissues (see [1] for review). While GH/IGF/IGFBP endocrine and paracrine actions in bone are well documented for growth and ageing in axial and appendicular skeleton, the effects of these molecules have been much less investigated in the cranio-facial bones, and even less in the dento-alveolar complex where dental and bone cells are interacting (see [1,3,4,5,6] for reviews). Bone cells present specificities depending on their localization site and embryonic origin, as already reported by Kasperk et al, who showed higher mRNA levels for IGF2 in human mandibular osteoblastic cells compared to iliac osteoblastic cells [7]
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