Inhibition of miR-183 Induces Insulin in Dental Pulp Cells

Abstract

We previously reported that miR-183 was downregulated during the direct conversion of dental pulp cells to insulin-producing cells. To further elucidate the role of miRNA regulation in dental pulp cells during this process, we examined the effect of miR-183 inhibition. Insulin expression was detected in induced cells 72 hours after ectopic expression of miR-183 inhibitor. The expression levels of insulin 1 and insulin 2 mRNA increased 1.7-fold and 1.6-fold, respectively. Insulin copy number estimates, following miR-183 inhibition, showed more than 10 copies each of insulin 1 and insulin 2. These data suggest that miR-183 downregulation induces the direct conversion of dental pulp cells to insulin-producing cells.