title: Dimethyl sulfoxide as an inducer of differentiation in preosteoblast MC3T3-E1 cells.
abstract: Osteoblastic differentiation is an essential part of bone formation. Dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO) is a water miscible solvent that is used extensively for receptor ligands in osteoblast studies. However, little is known about its effects on osteoblastogenic precursor cells. In this study, we have used a murine preosteoblast cell line MC3T3-E1 cells to demonstrate that DMSO effectively induces osteoblastic differentiation of MC3T3-E1 cells via the activation of Runx2 and osterix and is dependent upon the protein kinase C (PKC) pathways. We further demonstrated that prolonged activation of PKC pathways is sufficient to induce osteoblastic differentiation, possibly via the activation of PKD/PKCmu.
authors.affiliation: Department of Medicine, University of Hong Kong, Faculty of Medicine Building, 21 Sassoon Road, Pokfulam, Hong Kong, China. mwcheung@hkucc.hku.hk
authors.forename: W M W
authors.initials: WM
authors.lastname: Cheung
authors.forename: W W
authors.initials: WW
authors.lastname: Ng
authors.forename: A W C
authors.initials: AW
authors.lastname: Kung
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D002454:Cell Differentiation / Q000187:drug effects*; D002460:Cell Line; D050659:Core Binding Factor Alpha 1 Subunit / Q000378:metabolism*; D004121:Dimethyl Sulfoxide / Q000494:pharmacology*; D004789:Enzyme Activation / Q000187:drug effects; D051379:Mice; D010006:Osteoblasts / Q000201:enzymology*; D011493:Protein Kinase C / Q000378:metabolism; D015398:Signal Transduction / Q000187:drug effects*; D012997:Solvents / Q000494:pharmacology*
chemical_list: D050659:Core Binding Factor Alpha 1 Subunit; C493716:Runx2 protein, mouse; D012997:Solvents; C089212:protein kinase D; D011493:Protein Kinase C; D004121:Dimethyl Sulfoxide