title: The PI3K/Akt signalling pathway may play an internal role related to abnormal condylar growth: a preliminary study.
abstract: Developmental deformity of the mandible is one of the most common craniofacial malformations and is closely related to abnormal condylar growth. In this study, the role of PI3K/Akt signalling in the regulation of chondrocyte proliferation and hypertrophic differentiation in the condylar cartilage was studied. Immunohistochemical staining was used to investigate the expression of PI3K and p-Akt in the rat condyle cartilage. Rat condylar chondrocytes were cultured for the investigation of chondrocyte proliferation and hypertrophic differentiation when PI3K/Akt was inhibited. In addition, organ culture of the rat mandibular condyle was performed to evaluate the condyle cartilage growth while PI3K/Akt was inhibited. PI3K-positive cells and p-Akt-positive cells showing cytoplasmic staining were found to be present in the condylar cartilage. Reduced cell proliferation was observed in the culture of rat condylar chondrocytes when PI3K/Akt was inhibited; however, the hypertrophic differentiation level was increased. The proliferative zone thickness of condylar cartilage in the experimental group was less than that in the control group (P=0.00185), but the hypertrophic zone was greater than that in the control group (P=0.01048). PI3K/Akt signalling exerts opposite influences on chondrocyte proliferation and hypertrophic differentiation of the condylar cartilage, and these data suggest that PI3K/Akt is a potential intracellular regulation signal pathway in condylar cartilage development.
authors.affiliation: The State Key Laboratory Breeding Base of Basic Science of Stomatology (Hubei-MOST) and Key Laboratory for Oral Biomedical Engineering of the Ministry of Education, School and Hospital of Stomatology, Wuhan University, Wuhan, China; Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, School and Hospital of Stomatology, Wuhan University, Wuhan, China.
authors.forename: Z
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Li
authors.affiliation: The State Key Laboratory Breeding Base of Basic Science of Stomatology (Hubei-MOST) and Key Laboratory for Oral Biomedical Engineering of the Ministry of Education, School and Hospital of Stomatology, Wuhan University, Wuhan, China; Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, School and Hospital of Stomatology, Wuhan University, Wuhan, China.
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Lu
authors.affiliation: The State Key Laboratory Breeding Base of Basic Science of Stomatology (Hubei-MOST) and Key Laboratory for Oral Biomedical Engineering of the Ministry of Education, School and Hospital of Stomatology, Wuhan University, Wuhan, China; Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, School and Hospital of Stomatology, Wuhan University, Wuhan, China. Electronic address: li_whuss@hotmail.com.
authors.forename: Z-B
authors.initials: ZB
authors.lastname: Li
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D002454:Cell Differentiation; D049109:Cell Proliferation; D002478:Cells, Cultured; D019902:Chondrocytes / Q000502:physiology*; D020219:Chondrogenesis / Q000502:physiology*; D004121:Dimethyl Sulfoxide / Q000494:pharmacology; D018507:Gene Expression Regulation, Developmental; D008335:Mandibular Condyle / Q000166:cytology / Q000254:growth & development*; D019869:Phosphatidylinositol 3-Kinases / Q000502:physiology*; D051057:Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-akt / Q000502:physiology*; D051381:Rats; D017207:Rats, Sprague-Dawley; D060888:Real-Time Polymerase Chain Reaction; D015398:Signal Transduction
chemical_list: D019869:Phosphatidylinositol 3-Kinases; D051057:Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-akt; D004121:Dimethyl Sulfoxide
keywords: PI3K/Akt; chondrocyte; condyle cartilage; differentiation.; proliferation