title: Cav1.2 of L-type Calcium Channel Is a Key Factor for the Differentiation of Dental Pulp Stem Cells.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  L-type calcium channel (LTCC) is a unique and important factor in several cell lineages, whereas its role in the differentiation of dental pulp stem cells (DPSCs) is not well-known. In this study, we examined the function of LTCC α1C subunit (Cav1.2) and its distal C-terminus (DCT) during the in vitro differentiation of rat DPSCs (rDPSCs).
  
  
  METHODS
  After fluorescence-activated cell sorting, rDPSCs were differentiated toward dentin sialophosphoprotein-positive odontoblasts and neural cells expressing specific neuronal markers. The inhibition of rDPSC differentiation via LTCC blocker nimodipine and Cav1.2 knockdown through short hairpin RNA was evaluated by using quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction, Western blot, and immunofluorescence staining.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Nimodipine treatment and Cav1.2 knockdown generated similar results. The number of positive calcium nodules and the protein and mRNA levels of dentin sialophosphoprotein were significantly reduced during odontogenic differentiation. The levels of microtubule-associated protein-2 and β-III-tubulin were reduced in neural differentiation. The expression of DCT decreased after odontogenic differentiation but significantly increased after neural differentiation (P < .05, n = 9).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Our data showed that LTCC blocker nimodipine inhibits the odontogenic and neural differentiation of rDPSCs, and Cav1.2 is responsible for the activity of LTCC. The expression of DCT of Cav1.2 significantly changes during both odontogenic and neural differentiation. Thus, Cav1.2 of LTCC plays an essential role in differentiation of DPSCs, which might be mediated through the regulation of DCT levels in DPSCs.
authors.affiliation: Department of Conservative Dentistry, Laboratory of Oral Biomedical Science and Translational Medicine, School of Stomatology, Tongji University, Shanghai, People's Republic of China.
authors.forename: Yanqin
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Ju
authors.affiliation: Department of Conservative Dentistry, Laboratory of Oral Biomedical Science and Translational Medicine, School of Stomatology, Tongji University, Shanghai, People's Republic of China.
authors.forename: Jianping
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Ge
authors.affiliation: Department of Regenerative Medicine, Shanghai Tenth People's Hospital, Tongji University School of Medicine, Shanghai, People's Republic of China.
authors.forename: Xudong
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Ren
authors.affiliation: Department of Regenerative Medicine, Translational Stem Cell Research Center, Tongji Hospital, Tongji University School of Medicine, Shanghai, People's Republic of China.
authors.forename: Xianmin
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Zhu
authors.affiliation: Department of Regenerative Medicine, Translational Stem Cell Research Center, Tongji Hospital, Tongji University School of Medicine, Shanghai, People's Republic of China.
authors.forename: Zhigang
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Xue
authors.affiliation: Department of Regenerative Medicine, Translational Stem Cell Research Center, Tongji Hospital, Tongji University School of Medicine, Shanghai, People's Republic of China.
authors.forename: Yun
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Feng
authors.affiliation: Department of Conservative Dentistry, Laboratory of Oral Biomedical Science and Translational Medicine, School of Stomatology, Tongji University, Shanghai, People's Republic of China; Department of Stomatology, Huashan Hospital, Shanghai Medical College, Fudan University, Shanghai, People's Republic of China. Electronic address: slzhao@tongji.edu.cn.
authors.forename: Shouliang
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Zhao
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D020746:Calcium Channels, L-Type / Q000502:physiology*; D002454:Cell Differentiation; D003782:Dental Pulp / Q000166:cytology*; D009474:Neurons / Q000502:physiology; D009804:Odontoblasts / Q000502:physiology; D017207:Rats, Sprague-Dawley; D013234:Stem Cells / Q000502:physiology*
chemical_list: D020746:Calcium Channels, L-Type; C419385:L-type calcium channel alpha(1C)
keywords: Ca(v)1.2; DCT; L-type calcium channel; rat dental pulp stem cells