title: Lithium chloride promotes the odontoblast differentiation of hair follicle neural crest cells by activating Wnt/β-catenin signaling.
abstract: The Wnt/β-catenin signalling pathway contributes to the maintenance of pluripotency and partial reprogramming of stem cells. Postnatal neural crest cells (NCCs) can differentiate into odontoblast-like cells due to their multi-potential property, but further endeavors need to be made to promote odontogenic differentiation of hair follicle neural crest cells (hfNCCs). This study investigated whether the Wnt pathway activator lithium chloride (LiCl) promotes odontoblast differentiation of hfNCCs. Change of proliferation, β-catenin and pluripotency markers of hfNCCs were examined after treatment with LiCl. An in vitro odontoblast differentiation model of hfNCCs was built using dental cell conditioned media (DC-CM). The effects of LiCl on odontoblast differentiation of hfNCCs showed that proliferation and expression of β-catenin in the cytosolic and nuclear compartments were increased in the LiCl-treated hfNCCs, and the pluripotency marks, Oct4, Klf4, Sox2 and Nanog, were more highly expressed in the LiCl-treated group than in the control group. The odontoblast markers such as DSP, DMP1 and Runx2, could be detected in hfNCCs induced by DC-CM, but in LiCl -treated group all three markers had stronger expression. Expression of β-catenin in the nuclear of LiCl-treated hfNCCs induced by DC-CM was higher than in the other groups. The data indicate that the Wnt pathway activator LiCl can promote proliferation and odontoblast differentiation of hfNCCs, and chemical approaches are of benefit in obtaining more desirable seed cell types for cell-based therapies.
authors.affiliation: Institute of Stomatology, School of Stomatology, Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing, 210029, Jiangsu Province, China; Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, Zhongda Hospital, Medical College, Southeast University, 87 Hunan Road, Nanjing, 210009, Jiangsu Province, China.
authors.forename: Tengfei
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Shan
authors.forename: Cheng
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Zhou
authors.forename: Rong
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Yang
authors.forename: Fei
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Yan
authors.forename: Ping
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.forename: Yu
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Fu
authors.forename: Hongbing
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Jiang
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D002454:Cell Differentiation / Q000187:drug effects*; D049109:Cell Proliferation / Q000187:drug effects; D002478:Cells, Cultured; D050659:Core Binding Factor Alpha 1 Subunit / Q000378:metabolism; D017077:Culture Media, Conditioned / Q000494:pharmacology; D051180:Desmoplakins / Q000378:metabolism; D016326:Extracellular Matrix Proteins / Q000378:metabolism; D018859:Hair Follicle / Q000166:cytology; D018398:Homeodomain Proteins / Q000378:metabolism; D000090062:Kruppel-Like Factor 4; D051741:Kruppel-Like Transcription Factors / Q000378:metabolism; D018021:Lithium Chloride / Q000494:pharmacology*; D051379:Mice; D008813:Mice, Inbred ICR; D009432:Neural Crest / Q000166:cytology / Q000187:drug effects / Q000378:metabolism; D050814:Octamer Transcription Factor-3 / Q000378:metabolism; D009804:Odontoblasts / Q000166:cytology* / Q000378:metabolism; D055748:SOXB1 Transcription Factors / Q000378:metabolism; D015854:Up-Regulation / Q000187:drug effects; D060449:Wnt Signaling Pathway / Q000187:drug effects*; D051176:beta Catenin / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: D050659:Core Binding Factor Alpha 1 Subunit; D017077:Culture Media, Conditioned; D051180:Desmoplakins; C513308:Dmp1 protein, mouse; C495295:Dsp protein, mouse; D016326:Extracellular Matrix Proteins; D018398:Homeodomain Proteins; C000715468:Klf4 protein, mouse; D000090062:Kruppel-Like Factor 4; D051741:Kruppel-Like Transcription Factors; D050814:Octamer Transcription Factor-3; D055748:SOXB1 Transcription Factors; D051176:beta Catenin; D018021:Lithium Chloride
keywords: Wnt/β-catenin; lithium chloride; neural crest cells; odontoblast differentiation