1. Academic Validation
  2. Endogenous GDF11 regulates odontogenic differentiation of dental pulp stem cells

Endogenous GDF11 regulates odontogenic differentiation of dental pulp stem cells

  • J Cell Mol Med. 2020 Oct;24(19):11457-11464. doi: 10.1111/jcmm.15754.
Xingying Qi 1 Qingyue Xiao 1 Rui Sheng 1 Shuang Jiang 1 Quan Yuan 1 2 Weiqing Liu 1
Affiliations

Affiliations

  • 1 State Key Laboratory of Oral Diseases, National Clinical Research Center for Oral Disease, West China Hospital of Stomatology, Sichuan University, Chengdu, China.
  • 2 Department of Oral Implantology, West China Hospital of Stomatology, Sichuan University, Chengdu, China.
Abstract

Dental stem cell-based tooth regeneration is the futuristic treatment for missing teeth. Growth Differentiation Factor 11 (GDF11), a novel member of the TGF-beta Superfamily, has been reported to play a critical role in regulating stem cell differentiation. However, the role of endogenous GDF11 during dental stem cell differentiation remains unknown. Here, we have shown that GDF11 was highly expressed in dental pulp tissues in both mouse and human. Knockdown of endogenous GDF11 in human dental pulp stem cells (hDPSCs) led to comparable proliferation and migration but attenuated odontogenic differentiation as evidenced by Alkaline Phosphatase and Alizarin Red S staining. In addition, transcriptional levels of odontogenic-related genes were significantly down-regulated according to real-time polymerase chain reaction. Mechanistically, we performed RNA Sequencing analysis and found that silencing of endogenous GDF11 compromised the process of ossification and osteoblast differentiation, especially down-regulated transcription expression of Wnt pathway-specific genes. Immunofluorescence staining also showed diminished β-catenin expression and nuclei accumulation after knockdown of endogenous GDF11 in hDPSCs. In summary, our results suggested that endogenous GDF11 positively regulate odontogenic differentiation of hDPSCs through canonical Wnt/β-catenin signalling pathway.

Keywords

GDF11; human dental pulp stem cells; odontogenic differentiation.

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