Department of Stomatology, Nanfang Hospital, Southern Medical University, Guangzhou, China.
Int Endod J. 2021 Jan;54(1):85-99. doi: 10.1111/iej.13400. Epub 2020 Sep 26.
As one of the most densely innervated tissues, the dental pulp contains abundant nerve fibres, including sensory, sympathetic and parasympathetic nerve fibres. Studies in animal models and human patients with pulpitis have revealed distinct alterations in protein expression and histological appearance in all types of dental nerve fibres. Various molecules secreted by neurons, such as classical neurotransmitters, neuropeptides and amino acids, not only contribute to the induction, sensitization and maintenance of tooth pain, but also regulate non-neuronal cells, including fibroblasts, odontoblasts, immune cells and vascular endothelial cells. Dental nerves are particularly important for the microcirculatory and immune responses in pulpitis via their release of a variety of functional substances. Further, nerve fibres are found to be involved in dental soft and hard tissue repair. Thus, understanding how dental nerves participate in pulpitis could have important clinical ramifications for endodontic treatment. In this review, the roles of dental nerves in regulating pulpal inflammatory processes are highlighted and their implications for future research on this topic are discussed.
牙髓作为最密集的神经组织之一，含有丰富的神经纤维，包括感觉、交感和副交感神经纤维。在牙髓炎的动物模型和人类患者研究中，发现所有类型的牙神经纤维的蛋白表达和组织学表现都有明显改变。神经元分泌的各种分子，如经典神经递质、神经肽和氨基酸，不仅有助于诱导、敏化和维持牙痛，还调节非神经元细胞，包括成纤维细胞、成牙本质细胞、免疫细胞和血管内皮细胞。通过释放各种功能物质，牙神经在牙髓炎的微循环和免疫反应中起着特别重要的作用。此外，纤维还被发现参与了牙体软硬组织的修复。因此，了解牙神经如何参与牙髓炎对牙髓治疗具有重要的临床意义。在这篇综述中，强调了牙神经在调节牙髓炎症过程中的作用，并讨论了其对该主题未来研究的意义。
