The Involvement of miR-146a in the Differentiation of Periodontal Ligament Cells

• Main Authors: Fang-Chin Chen, 陳芳津
• Other Authors: Kuo-Wei Chang
• Format: Others
• Language: zh-TW
• Published: 2008
• Online Access: http://ndltd.ncl.edu.tw/handle/28902089323538272843

碩士 === 國立陽明大學 === 臨床牙醫學研究所 === 96 === Periodontal ligament (PDL) cells exhibit potentials in hard and soft tissue regeneration because of their mutipotential properties. Osteoblastic line of differentiation of PDL cells will occur under special condition. In bone metabolism, pre-osteoclasts differentiate into osteoclasts via activation of NF-κB signaling pathway. MicroRNAs, small RNAs, regulating the gene expression at the post-transcription level, are associated with the cell process, including cell differentiation. miR-146a, one of microRNAs, was reported involved in the regulation of NF-κB. The purpose of this study was to investigate the regulatory role of miR-146a in the differentiation of PDL cells through NF-κB signaling pathway. The PDL cells were first infected by retrovirus carrying hTERT gene to achieve immortalized PDL cells (I-PDL cells). Treatment of ascorbic acid induced the genesis of bone differentiation markers and ALP activity. Interestingly, the treated I-PDL cells also had the up-regulation of miR-146a. Furthermore, I-PDL cells infected with lentivirus carrying miR-146a had the high enforced miR-146a expression and also exhibited higher bone differentiation potential in relation to control cells. In addition, nuclear NF-κB was also decreased in such cells implicating that miR-146a expression inactivated NF-κB signaling. This preliminary study concludes that miR-146a can enhance the differentiation of PDL cells. The PDL cells genetically modified by miR-146a could have clinical potential for periodontal repair.