Lithium delivery enhances bone growth during midpalatal expansion.
Lithium is an activator of β-catenin signaling, and β-catenin mediates bone acquisition in response to mechanical loading in the bone. We tested the hypothesis that lithium enhances new bone formation during midpalatal suture expansion. Forty-eight Wistar rats with or without suture expansion were gavage-fed daily with lithium chloride or sodium chloride. We labeled the rats with bromodeoxyuridine to evaluate the proliferation and differentiation of the osteoprogenitors. Lithium increased β-catenin expression and cell proliferation in expanding sutures. Initial delay in the differentiation of osteoprogenitors into mature osteoblasts by lithium treatment corresponded with expansion of pre-osteoblasts, which preceded the increase of new bone formation in the suture. These results suggested that β-catenin regulates proliferation of osteoprogenitors and maturation of osteoblasts during midpalatal suture expansion osteogenesis, and that lithium enhances bone regeneration by elevating β-catenin expression. Lithium treatment could be a pharmaceutical aid to improve the stability of orthodontic treatment like rapid palatal expansion.
Department of Orthodontics, College of Stomatology, Ninth People's Hospital, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, 639 Zhi Zao Ju Road, Shanghai, 200011, China. tangg@graduate.hku.hk
G H
GH
Tang
J
J
Xu
R J
RJ
Chen
Y F
YF
Qian
G
G
Shen
D000818:Animals; D049109:Cell Proliferation / Q000187:drug effects; D003799:Dental Stress Analysis; D018021:Lithium Chloride / Q000494:pharmacology*; D008297:Male; D010006:Osteoblasts / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000378:metabolism; D010012:Osteogenesis / Q000187:drug effects*; D010155:Palatal Expansion Technique; D021362:Palate, Hard / Q000254:growth & development*; D051381:Rats; D017208:Rats, Wistar; D015398:Signal Transduction / Q000187:drug effects; D051176:beta Catenin / Q000096:biosynthesis / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000502:physiology
D051176:beta Catenin; D018021:Lithium Chloride