RUNX2 and diabetes mellitus: Consistent with previous research, diabetes hinders alveolar bone repair, diminishing new bone formation and osteoblast numbers at the extraction site.4 Our study examined Runx2 and COL1 expression during alveolar bone healing and found that the expression patterns of these genes showed a correlation with bone formation within the sockets at 7 and 28 days, but not at 14 days.