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Updated: Jul 3, 2026
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Published on: July 8, 2021
[Spontaneous odontogenic differentiation and critical gene expression of mouse dental papilla mesenchymal cell in
Feng Zhu1, Rong-Rong Nie, Ling Wu
1State Key Laboratory of Oral Diseases, West China Stomatological Hospital, Sichuan University, Chengdu 610041, China.
Objective:
To observe the spontaneous odontogenic differentiation of mouse dental papilla mesenchymal cells in blood serum medium. And to detect the critical gene expression of correlated transcription factors what are specific to odontogenic and osteogenic differentiation.
Methods:
The primary dental papilla mesenchymal cells what had been obtained from E16.5 d murine embryo were serially subcultivated in the simple serum medium and the serum medium supplemented with LIF (leukocyte inhibitory factor) respectively. It was observed whether the dental papilla mesenchymal cells differentiated into odontoblast phenotype or kept the undifferentiation phenotype. The mRNA expression of specific transcription factors were detected in cells with or without odontogenic differentiation.
Results:
The fourth generation and behind of mouse dental papilla mesenchymal cells what were cultured in simple serum medium could spontaneously differentiate to odontoblast, while the undifferentiation phenotype of dental papilla mesenchymal cells could be lasting to ninth generation when they cultured in medium supplemented with 10(6) U/L LIF. Whether the dental papilla cells differentiate to odontogenic phenotype or not, the members of HOX gene family such as Msx1/Msx2, Pax9 and Lhx6/Lhx7 got completely expression. These transcription factors were specific to odontogenic mesenchymal cells. Also the specific gene of mineralized tissue cells such as DSPP, Sox9, Cbfa1 and Osx initiated to express after the odontoblast differentiation.
Conclusion:
Not only this spontaneous odontogenic differentiation model of mouse dental papilla mesenchymal cells can be the positive control, but also the mode of gene expression can provide an evidence for studying how gene changes when adult stem cells are induced to odontogenic differentiation.
