Conclusion
Together, these findings suggest that mechanical stress is an important factor affecting the proliferation and differentiation of SCAPs via the activation of ERK and JNK signaling pathway.
Results
Human SCAPs were isolated and stimulated by 200 g mechanical stimuli for 30 min and their proliferation and differentiation capacity were evaluated in vitro at different time points. MTT and FCM results demonstrated that cell proliferation was enhanced, while TEM findings showed the morphological and ultrastructural changes in stress-treated SCAPs. ALP activity and mineralization capacity of stress-treated SCAPs were upregulated . In the meantime, higher odontogenic and osteogenic differentiation were found in stress-treated SCAPs by real-time RT-PCR and Western blot, as indicated by the expression of related markers at both mRNA and protein levels. Moreover, the protein expressions of pJNK and pERK MAPK pathways were upregulated.