Role of PI3K/AKT Signaling Pathway in Proliferation, Migration and Odontogenic Differentiation of Human Dental Pulp Stem Cells

抄録

We aimed to study the role of the PI3K/AKT signaling pathway in the proliferation, migration and odontogenic differentiation of human dental pulp stem cells (hDPSCs). hDPSCs were cultured in vitro and treated with LY294002 (LY), an inhibitor of the PI3K pathway. Cell proliferation and migration were detected by CCK8 assay and scratch assay respectively. The levels of PI3K and AKT pathway downstream proteins AKT, phosphorylated AKT(p-AKT) as well as odontogenic differentiation marker DSPP were measured by Western blot at 6, 12, 24, 48 and 72 h. Blank control, mineralization induction, LY and mineralization induction + LY groups were set. After 14 days of mineralization induction, the formation of mineralized nodules was detected by alizarin red staining. At 24, 48 and 72 h, the optical densities of LY group were significantly lower than those of control group (P<0.05). Compared with 0 h after scratching, the cells in each group migrated at 24 h. Compared with control group, the number of migrating cells in LY group was significantly lower. After 14 days of mineralization induction, the mineralization induction group had most mineralized nodules, with the highest density. The protein levels of p-AKT and AKT remained almost unchanged at 0, 6, 12, 24, 48 and 72 h. After addition of LY294002, the protein level of p-AKT decreased from 6 to 72 h, that of AKT did not change significantly, and that of DSPP reduced. The PI3K/AKT signaling pathway can promote the proliferation, migration and odontogenic differentiation of hDPSCs.