title: Focal adhesion kinase maintains, but not increases the adhesion of dental pulp cells.
abstract: Focal adhesion kinase (FAK) functions as a key enzyme in the integrin-mediated adhesion-signalling pathway. Here, we aimed to investigate the effects of FAK on adhesion of human dental pulp (HDP) cells. We transfected lentiviral vectors to silence or overexpress FAK in HDP cells ex vivo. Early cell adhesion, cell survival and focal contacts (FCs)-related proteins (FAK and paxillin) were examined. By using immunofluorescence, the formation of FCs and cytoskeleton was detected, respectively. We found that both adhesion and survival of HDP cells were suppressed by FAK inhibition. However, FAK overexpression slightly inhibited cell adhesion and exhibited no change in cell survival compared with the control. A thick rim of cytoskeleton accumulated and smaller dot-shaped FCs appeared in FAK knockdown cells. Phosphorylation of paxillin (p-paxillin) was inhibited in FAK knockdown cells, verifying that the adhesion was inhibited. Less cytoskeleton and elongated FCs were observed in FAK-overexpressed cells. However, p-paxillin had no significant difference compared with the control. In conclusion, the data suggest that FAK maintains cell adhesion, survival and cytoskeleton formation, but excessive FAK has no positive effects on these aspects.
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Oral Diseases, National Clinical Research Center for Oral Diseases, West China Hospital of Stomatology, Sichuan University, Chengdu, Sichuan, China.|Department of Endodontics, Guiyang Hospital of Stomatology, Guiyang, Guizhou, China.
authors.forename: Yuyan
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Qian
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Oral Diseases, National Clinical Research Center for Oral Diseases, West China Hospital of Stomatology, Sichuan University, Chengdu, Sichuan, China.
authors.forename: Meiying
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Shao
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Oral Diseases, National Clinical Research Center for Oral Diseases, West China Hospital of Stomatology, Sichuan University, Chengdu, Sichuan, China.
authors.forename: Wenlin
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Zou
authors.affiliation: Department of Preventive Dentistry, West China Hospital of Stomatology, Sichuan University, Chengdu, Sichuan, China.|State Key Laboratory of Oral Diseases, National Clinical Research Center for Oral Diseases, West China Hospital of Stomatology, Sichuan University, Chengdu, Sichuan, China.
authors.forename: Linyan
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: Department of Preventive Dentistry, West China Hospital of Stomatology, Sichuan University, Chengdu, Sichuan, China. chengran@scu.edu.cn.
authors.forename: Ran
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Cheng
authors.affiliation: Department of Preventive Dentistry, West China Hospital of Stomatology, Sichuan University, Chengdu, Sichuan, China.
authors.forename: Tao
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Hu
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D002448:Cell Adhesion / Q000235:genetics* / Q000502:physiology; D002470:Cell Survival / Q000235:genetics; D002478:Cells, Cultured; D003599:Cytoskeleton / Q000378:metabolism; D003782:Dental Pulp / Q000166:cytology* / Q000378:metabolism; D051416:Focal Adhesion Protein-Tyrosine Kinases / Q000502:physiology*; D006801:Humans; D015398:Signal Transduction / Q000235:genetics / Q000502:physiology; D055815:Young Adult
chemical_list: D051416:Focal Adhesion Protein-Tyrosine Kinases
keywords: Adhesion; Cytoskeleton; Focal adhesion kinase; Focal contacts; Human dental pulp cells; Survival