Dr Alastair J Sloan
Research Theme
Tissue Engineering & Reparative Dentistry
Research Group
Mineralised Tissue Biology in Repair and Regeneration of the Dental Tissues
Research Interests
My research interests within the field of mineralised connective tissues, focussing on the reparative potential of these tissues originated from my doctoral studies at the University of Birmingham. During my PhD I established an in vitro organ culture model for human and rodent dental tissues. This provided a novel and innovative model for studying the biological behaviour of these tissues over extended periods of time. I developed an interest in the signalling processes that initiate and control the repair of the dentine pulp complex. In particular, the effects of the application of members of the transforming growth factor – beta family on pulpal cell behaviour. This work led me to investigate the expression of the TGF-β receptors and isoforms in dental cells during health and disease and provided evidence for the first time that TGF-β receptors were present on odontoblast cells and that their expression was differentially expressed during disease. Work also demonstrated that TGF-β isoforms were expressed by odontoblasts and other cells of the pulp and that this isoform, which was found in dentine, could be released from the matrix by cavity conditioning agents. These studies developed my long-term research interest in tissue regeneration and regenerative medicine. Current research interests are in understanding the dentinogenic and osteoinductive properties of dentine and bone matrices to facilitate novel tissue engineering methodologies and natural regenerative processes. Specifically:
- Growth factor mediated mineralised tissue regeneration
- The role of dental pulp stem cells in dental tissue regeneration
- Ex vivo modelling of bone regeneration
- Characterisation and modelling of pulpal infection
- Use of antimictobial peptides for pulpal disease
- Novel biomatrices & material directed tissue repair & engineering
Selected Publications
- Bone matrix formation in osteogenic cultures derived from human embryonic stem cells in vitro
- An ex vivo Rodent Mandible Culture Model for Bone Repair
- Technical advances in the sectioning of dental tissue and of on-section cross-linked collagen detection in mineralized teeth
- TGF-beta/extracellular matrix interactions in dentin matrix: a role in regulating sequestration and protection of bioactivity
Selected Projects
- An ex vivo mouse mandible culture model to study inflammatory bone disease. (AJ Sloan, RJ Waddington and XQ Wei)
- Influence of surface modification of titanium on progenitor bone cell behaviour during osseointegration. (RJ Waddington, AJ Sloan, StJ Crean)
- Ex vivo modelling of antimicrobial measures in pulpal disease. Richard Whipp Studentship (AJ Sloan, JY Maillard [Pharmy] RJ Waddington, M Wilson, D Schmaljohann [Pharmy], S Denyer [Pharmy])
- Characterisation and commitment of Dental Pulp Progenitor Cells (AJ Sloan, RJ Waddington)