Evaluation of transcription factors expression on odontoblast-like cells exposed to parathyroid hormone (PTH)

• Grant number: 14/17106-9
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Scientific Initiation
• Start date: November 01, 2014
• End date: October 31, 2015
• Field of knowledge: Biological Sciences - Morphology - Cytology and Cell Biology
• Principal Investigator: Gustavo Narvaes Guimarães
• Grantee: Júlia Dias Silvestri Vaz Pinto
• Host Institution: Faculdade de Odontologia de Piracicaba (FOP). Universidade Estadual de Campinas (UNICAMP). Piracicaba , SP, Brazil

Abstract

Dentinogenesis is a complex process where odontoblasts secrete a collagen-based organic matrix, which gradually become mineralized by hydroxyapatite crystals deposition. Many non-collagenous proteins synthesized by odontoblasts are responsible for promoting and regulating the mineralization of collagen fibers and growth of hydroxyapatite crystals. The expression of these proteins is modulated by various transcription factors during the dentinogenesis. Parathyroid hormone (PTH) is the main regulator of calcium ion homeostasis in the body. It has been shown that changes in serum PTH levels lead to an abnormal formation of dentin and that intermittent PTH administration causes an increase in the dentin apposition rate, microhardness and Ca and P relative concentration in dentin of mice incisors. In previous studies, we demonstrated that PTH modulates mineralization, gene expression, apoptosis and cell proliferation of odontoblast-like cells (MDPC-23) in a time-dependent mode. Furthermore, the PTH-induced proliferative and apoptotic modulation was mediated differently by PKA and PKC signaling pathways. In the present study, we propose investigate in vitro expression of the transcription factors Runx2, Osterix, Twist1 and Klf4 in odontoblast-like cells (MDPC-23) exposed to hPTH (1-34) for different times, and investigate whether this modulation is PKA-dependent and/or PKC-dependent pathways.