ET-1 Promotes Differentiation of Periodontal Ligament Stem Cells into Osteoblasts through ETR, MAPK, and Wnt/β-Catenin Signaling Pathways under Inflammatory Microenvironment

Figure 2

ET-1 promoted differentiation of PDLSCs into osteoblasts by increasing expression of Runx2, OCN, and COL1. The osteogenic potential of PDLSCs was tested using ALP staining. Increased ALP activity is a marker of osteoblast differentiation. The staining showed that ET-1 promoted differentiation of PDLSCs into osteoblasts (a). Runx2, OCN, and COL1 mRNA levels gradually increased with the exposure of ET-1, peaking at day 21 (). At each time point (7 d, 14 d, and 21 d), the expression of Runx2 (b), OCN (c), and COL1 (d) mRNAs was induced at a dose-dependent manner (1, 10, and 100 nM). The effect of ET-1 on osteogenic differentiation of PDLSCs was further verified by assessing the change in Runx2, OCN, and COL1 expression of proteins associated with osteogenesis. Runx2 ((e), (f)), OCN ((e), (g)), and COL1 ((e), (h)) protein expressions levels were coincident with the mRNA changes. Each bar represents the mean ± standard deviation (). ; ; .

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