Inhibition of Mertk Receptor Signaling Enhances Bone Regeneration After Tooth Extraction

Regeneration of alveolar bone is an essential step in restoring healthy function following tooth extraction. Growth of new bone in the healing extraction socket can be variable and often unpredictable when systemic comorbidities are present, leading to the need for additional therapeutic targets to accelerate the regenerative process. This study examined the effect of signaling through the TAM (Tyro3, Axl, Mertk) family of receptors on alveolar bone regeneration. We performed RNA sequencing on human alveolar bone stem cells treated with a pan-TAM inhibitor in vitro. We also performed RNA sequencing on tissue isolated from the extraction socket of WT and Mertk-\- mice. Comparison of inhibition of TAM signaling (Tyro3, Axl, Mertk) on bone differentiation and healing. One data set examines human stem cells in culture with TAM inhibitor, and the other compares WT and Mertk knockout mice during healing following tooth extraction.