Molecular Oral Pathophysiology

Oral diseases are a major health concern. They include frequent infectious diseases, common acquired dental developmental defects, rare genetic diseases and tumors.  Our team explores oral physiology and pathology from bench to bedside. Our goal is to identify and characterize distinct molecular pathways driving jaw-tooth biology.

Oral diseases are among the most prevalent. They considerably reduce the quality of life for those who are affected. Oral diseases include frequent infectious diseases, common acquired dental developmental defects, rare genetic diseases and tumors. Their diversity is related to the multiple causal factors and to the variety of oral tissues constituting the oral cavity. Oral pathologies are co-morbidity factors of systemic diseases and may be used as early marker. Finally, oral reconstruction and the ensuing treatment costs are major public health concerns worldwide.

Our team explores oral physiology and pathology from bench to bedside. At that time, integrative jaw biology is incipient due to the multiplicity of interacting tissues and cells which profiles are partially identified. With this in mind, our goal is to identify and characterize molecular pathways driving jaw-tooth biology through inherited and acquired dysfunctions. To do so, a part of the team’s activity is dedicated to human cohort and biobank analyses. These are coordinated at a National scale level (FHU, PHRC, HeadNeckMAFACE-ORares network – part of European CRANIO-ERN Action). The functional underlying pathways are explored using experimental cell and animal models for oral development and diseases. The oral cavity being the first route of entrance for many xenobiotics and microbes responsible for most oral pathologies, characterization of cell signaling pathways involved in response to environmental toxicants with endocrine disrupting properties is an important challenge. The data from basic science on oral stem cells are used for innovative biomaterials for reconstruction in collaboration industrial partners. An experimental « InterMinD » platform connected with the oral university-hospital network and the biomedical Cordeliers Research Center gives access to cell and mineral investigation from the anatomical to nanoscale levels.