Tissue structure and mechanical function relationships of the human temporomandibular lateral capsule-ligament: Investigation of sexual and racial dimorphisms

项目总结/摘要 在美国，多达1000万成年人患有颞下颌关节紊乱病（TMD）。女性 与男性相比，非洲裔美国人的TMD发病率更高，但 与白色美国人相比患病率较低。尽管有这些发现， 性别和种族之间的流行率和发病率差异基本上是未知的。鉴于我们最近关于性行为的报道 在人类颞下颌关节盘的增量拉伸刚度和固定电荷密度的二型性，它 假设颞下颌关节（TMJ）的特性中可能存在额外的性二态性。 类似的差异也被假设存在于种族群体之间，尽管这种可能性尚未得到证实。 这可能会限制跨种族群体的研究翻译信心。侧囊- 韧带（LCL）复合体，跨越颞骨和下颌骨髁，可以影响 颞下颌关节盘紊乱（TMDD）风险通过影响关节的“松弛韧带”机制 先前文献中假设的关节。此外，性别和种族的差异，在潜在的风险和 弹性因素可能有助于TMDD发展的不同风险和观察到的TMD患病率， 发生率差异。我们的长期目标是使个性化的TMDD风险评估能够增加 生成的风险估计的适用性。本研究的目的是描述性别和种族特异性 机械化学LCL复合物的性质，以研究TMD差异的潜在贡献 性别和种族之间的差异。中心假设是，在女性中观察到的TMJ特性， 与男性相比，非裔美国人患TMDD的风险更高， 白色美国人。拟议的研究将能够确定性别和种族特异性差异， TMD发展的潜在机械和化学风险因素（目标1和2）。中将该确定 有助于更好地了解不同人群的TMJ特性， 了解TMD发病率和患病率的差异。有限元模型也将用于 研究性别和种族之间的差异如何影响颞下颌关节负荷 环境，这将在独立阶段（目标3）开发，完善和解释。这 该提案旨在进一步发展颞下颌关节和颞下颌关节的科学专业知识和技能获取 颅面生物力学，计划从指导博士后奖学金过渡到独立的 教师。NIH T32培训和专业发展资源，联合资源和克莱姆森网络- MUSC生物工程项目和克莱姆森大学途径辅导项目提供了理想的 跨学科的培训环境，以准备和过渡到独立后，博士后 奖学金期间。

Project Summary/Abstract As many as 10 million adults in the United States have temporomandibular disorders (TMDs). Females experience TMDs at higher rates compared to males and African Americans have higher TMD incidence, yet lower prevalence compared to white Americans. Despite these findings, etiological mechanisms contributing to prevalence and incidence disparities by sex and race are largely unknown. Given our recent reports on sexual dimorphisms in incremental tensile stiffness and fixed charge density of the human temporomandibular disc, it is hypothesized that additional sexual dimorphisms may exist in properties of the temporomandibular joint (TMJ). Similar differences are also hypothesized to exist between racial groups, although this possibility has not yet been explored, which may limit research translational confidence across racial groups. The lateral capsule- ligament (LCL) complex, which spans the temporal bone and mandibular condyle, could impact temporomandibular disc derangement (TMDD) risk through a ‘loose ligament’ mechanism affecting joint articulation postulated in prior literature. Furthermore, sex- and race-specific differences in potential risk and resiliency factors may contribute to differential risk of TMDD development and observed TMD prevalence and incidence disparities. Our long-term goal is to enable individualized TMDD risk assessment to increase applicability of generated risk estimates. The objective of this study is to describe sex- and race-specific mechano-chemical LCL complex properties to investigate potential contributions to TMD disparities between sexes and racial groups. The central hypothesis is that TMJ properties observed in females and African Americans will be associated with higher risk of TMDD development compared to those of males and white Americans. The proposed studies will enable the determination of sex- and race-specific differences in potential mechanical and chemical risk factors for TMD development (Aims 1 and 2). This determination will contribute to a better understanding of TMJ properties across diverse populations and is crucial to enabling understanding of TMD incidence and prevalence disparities. Finite element models will also be used to investigate how differences between sexes and racial groups impact the temporomandibular loading environment, which will be developed, refined, and interpreted during the independent phase (Aim 3). This proposal aims to further development of scientific expertise and skill acquisition in temporomandibular and craniofacial biomechanics, with a plan to transition from mentored post-doctoral fellowship to independent faculty. NIH T32 training and professional development resources, joint resources and network of the Clemson- MUSC Bioengineering program, and the Clemson University Pathways Mentoring Program provide an ideal inter-disciplinary training environment to prepare for and transition to independence following the postdoctoral fellowship period.