Sestrin 2 (SESN2) is a member of the sestrin family of stress-induced proteins that negatively regulate agingassociated biological processes. This study aims to investigate the role of SESN2 in regulating the differentiation potential and senescence of mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) derived from young and elderly donors. Bulk RNA sequencing revealed a common decline in the SESN2 mRNA levels in MSCs from elderly individuals, which was confirmed via reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction and western blot analyses. SESN2 knockdown in MSCs from young donors resulted in phenotypic changes similar to those in MSCs from elderly donors, including an enhanced expression of senescence and adipogenic markers and diminished expression of osteogenic markers. To confirm the effect of decreased SESN2 expression on osteogenic and adipogenic differentiation, we induced Sesn2 knockdown in mouse bone marrow-derived MSCs. Sesn2 knockdown suppressed the mRNA expression of osteogenic marker genes, alkaline phosphatase activity, and matrix mineralization. Furthermore, Sesn2 knockdown enhanced mRNA expression of the adipogenic marker genes and intracellular lipid accumulation. These results suggest that a decline in SESN2 expression during aging contributes to the shift of MSC differentiation from osteogenic to adipogenic lineage.

We previously demonstrated that epidermal growth factor (EGF) enhances cell migration and invasion of breast cancer cells in a SMAD ubiquitination regulatory factor 1 (SMURF1)-dependent manner and that SMURF1 induces degradation of β-catenin in C2C12 cells. However, the relationship between EGF-induced SMURF1 and β-catenin expression in breast cancer cells remains unclear. So, we investigated if EGF and SMURF1 regulate β-catenin expression in MDAMB231 human breast cancer cells. When MDAMB231 cells were incubated with EGF for 24, 48, and 72 hours, EGF significantly increased expression levels of SMURF1 mRNA and protein while suppressing expression levels of β-catenin mRNA and protein. Overexpression of SMURF1 downregulated β-catenin mRNA and protein, whereas knockdown of SMURF1 increased β-catenin expression and blocked EGF-induced β-catenin downregulation. Knockdown of β-catenin enhanced cell migration and invasion of MDAMB231 cells, while β-catenin overexpression suppressed EGF-induced cell migration and invasion. Furthermore, knockdown of β-catenin enhanced vimentin expression and decreased cytokeratin expression, whereas β -catenin overexpression decreased vimentin expression and increased cytokeratin expression. These results suggest that EGF downregulates β-catenin in a SMURF1-dependent manner and that β-catenin downregulation contributes to EGF-induced cell migration and invasion in MDAMB breast cancer cells.

Receptor activator of nuclear factor-κB ligand (RANKL) is an osteoblast/stromal cell-derived essential factor for osteoclastogenesis. During endochondral bone formation, hypertrophic chondrocytes calcify cartilage matrix that is subsequently resorbed by osteoclasts in order to be replaced by new bone. Hypoxia-induced upregulation of RANKL expression has been previously demonstrated in an in vitro system using osteoblasts; however, the involved mechanism remains unclear in chondrocytes. In the present study, we investigated whether hypoxia regulates RANKL expression in ATDC5 cells, a murine chondrogenic cell line, and hypoxiainducible factor-1α (HIF-1α) mediates hypoxia-induced RANKL expression by transactivating the RANKL promoter. The expression levels of RANKL mRNA and protein, as well as HIF-1α protein, were significantly increased in ATDC5 cells under hypoxic condition. Constitutively active HIF-1α alone significantly increased the levels of RANKL expression under normoxic conditions, whereas dominant negative HIF-1α reduced hypoxia-induced RANKL expression. HIF-1α increased RANKL promoter reporter activity in a HIF-1α binding element-dependent manner in ATDC5 cells. Hypoxia-induced RANKL levels were much higher in differentiated ATDC5 cells, as compared to proliferating ATDC5 cells. These results suggested that under hypoxic conditions, HIF-1α mediates induction of RANKL expression in chondrocytes; in addition, hypoxia plays a role in osteoclastogenesis during endochondral bone formation, at least in part, through the induction of RANKL expression in hypertrophic chondrocytes.

Osteocytes may function as mechanotransducers by regulating local osteoclastogenesis. Reduced availability of oxygen, i.e. hypoxia, could occur during disuse, bone development, and fracture. Receptor activator of nuclear factor-κB ligand (RANKL) is an osteoblast/stromal cell derived essential factor for osteoclastogenesis. The hypoxia induced osteoclastogenesis via increased RANKL expression in osteoblasts was demonstrated. Hypoxic regulation of gene expression generally involves activation of the hypoxia-inducible factor (HIF) transcription pathway. In the present study, we investigated whether hypoxia regulates RANKL expression in murine osteocytes and HIF-1α mediates hypoxia-induced RANKL expression by transactivating RANKL promoter, to elucidate the role of osteocyte in osteoclastogenesis in the context of hypoxic condition. The expression levels of RANKL mRNA and protein, as well as hypoxia inducible factor-1α (HIF-1α) protein, were significantly increased in hypoxic condition in MLO-Y4s. Constitutively active HIF-1α alone significantly increased the levels of RANKL expression in MLO-Y4s under normoxic conditions, whereas dominant negative HIF-1α blocked hypoxia-induced RANKL expression. To further explore to find if HIF-1α directly regulates RANKL transcription, a luciferase reporter assay was conducted. Hypoxia significantly increased RANKL promoter activity, whereas mutations of putative HIF-1α binding elements in RANKL promoter prevented this hypoxia-induced RANKL promoter activity in MLO-Y4s. These results suggest that HIF-1α mediates hypoxia-induced up-regulation of RANKL expression, and that in osteocytes of mechanically unloaded bone, hypoxia enhances osteoclastogenesis, at least in part, via an increased RANKL expression in osteocytes.

Tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNFα) is a multifunctional inflammatory cytokine that regulates various cellular and bio-logical processes. Increased levels of TNFα have been im-plicated in a number of human diseases including diabetes and arthritis. Sympathetic nervous system stimulation via the beta2-adrenergic receptor (β2AR) in osteoblasts suppresses osteogenic activity. We previously reported that TNFα up- regulates β2AR expression in murine osteoblastic cells and that this modulation is associated with TNFα inhibition of osteoblast differentiation. In our present study, we explored whether TNFα induces β2AR expression in human osteo-blasts and then identified the downstream signaling path-way. Our results indicated that β2AR expression was increa-sed in Saos-2 and C2C12 cells by TNFα treatment, and that this increase was blocked by the inhibition of NF-κB acti-vation. Chromatin immunoprecipitation and luciferase reporter assay results indicated that NF-κB directly binds to its cog-nate elements on the β2AR promoter and thereby stimulates β2AR expression. These findings suggest that the activation of TNFα signaling in osteoblastic cells leads to an upregu-lation of β2AR and also that TNFα induces β2AR exp-ression in an NF-κB-dependent manner.

Receptor activator of NF-κB ligand (RANKL) is an essential cytokine for osteoclast differentiation, activation and survival. T lymphocytes such as T₁₇ cells, a subset of T helper cells that produce IL-17, play an important role in rheumatoid arthritic bone resorption by producing inflammatory cytokines and RANKL. It has not yet been clearly elucidated how T cell activation induces RANKL expression. T cell receptor activation induces the activation of nuclear factor of activated T cell (NFAT) and expression of its target genes. In this study, we examined the role of NFAT in T cell activation- induced RANKL expression. EL-4, a murine T lymphocytic cell line, was used. When T cell activation was induced by phorbol 12-myristate 13-acetate (PMA) and ionomycin, RANKL expression increased in a time-dependent manner. In the presence of cyclosporin, an inhibitor of NFAT activation, this PMA/ionomycin‐induced RANKL expression was blocked. Overexpression of either NFATc1 or NFATc3 induced RANKL expression. Chromatin immunoprecipitation results demonstrated that PMA/ionomycin treatment induced the binding of NFATc1 and NFATc3 to the mouse RANKL gene promoter. These results suggest that NFATc1 and NFATc3 mediates T cell receptor activationinduced RANKL expression in T lymphocytes.

Dlx3 and Dlx5 are homeobox domain proteins and are well-known regulators of osteoblastic differentiation. Since possible reciprocal relationships between osteogenic and adipogenic differentiation in mesenchymal stem cells exist, we examined the regulatory role of Dlx3 and Dlx5 on adipogenic differentiation using human dental pulp stem cells. Over-expression of Dlx3 and Dlx5 stimulated osteogenic differentiation but inhibited adipogenic differentiation of human dental pulp stem cells. Dlx3 and Dlx5 suppressed the expression of adipogenic marker genes such as C/EBPα, PPARγ, aP2 and lipoprotein lipase. Adipogenic stimuli suppressed the mRNA levels of Dlx3 and Dlx5, whereas osteogenic stimuli enhanced the expression of Dlx3 and Dlx5 in 3T3-L1 preadipocytes. These results suggest that Dlx3 and Dlx5 exert a stimulatory effect on osteogenic differentiation of stem cells through the inhibition of adipogenic differ¬entiation as well as direct stimulation.

Tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNFα) is a multifunctional cytokine that is elevated in inflammatory diseases such as atherosclerosis, diabetes and rheumatoid arthritis. Recent evidence has suggested that β2 adrenergic receptor(β2AR) activation in osteoblasts suppresses osteogenic activity. In the present study, we explored whether TNFα modulates βAR expression in osteoblastic cells and whether this regulation is associated with the inhibition of osteoblast differentiation by TNFα. In the experiments, we used C2C12 cells, MC3T3- E1 cells and primary cultured mouse bone marrow stromal cells. Among the three subtypes of βAR, β2 and β3AR were found in our analysis to be upregulated by TNFα. Moreover, isoproterenol-induced cAMP production was observed to be significantly enhanced in TNFα-primed C2C12 cells, indicating that TNFα enhances β2AR signaling in osteoblasts. TNFα was further found in C2C12 cells to suppress bone morphogenetic protein 2-induced alkaline phosphatase (ALP) activity and the expression of osteogenic marker genes including Runx2, ALP and osteocalcin. Propranolol, a β2AR antagonist, attenuated this TNFα suppression of osteogenic differentiation. TNFα increased the expression of receptor activator of NF-κB ligand (RANKL), an essential osteoclastogenic factor, in C2C12 cells which was again blocked by propranolol. In summary, our data show that TNFα increases β2AR expression in osteoblasts and that a blockade of β2AR attenuates the suppression of osteogenic differentiation and stimulation of RANKL expression by TNFα. These findings imply that a crosstalk between TNFα and β2AR signaling pathways might occur in osteoblasts to modulate their function.

Bone morphogenetic protein (BMP) 2 is a potent osteogenic factor. Although both Smad1/5 and mitogenactivated protein kinases (MAPKs) are activated by BMP2, the hierarchical relationship between them is unclear. In this study, we examined if BMP2-stimulated MAPK activation is regulated by Smad1/5 or vice versa. When C2C12 cells were treated with BMP2, the activation of extracellular signal-regulated kinase (ERK), p38 MAPK and c-Jun-N-terminal kinase was evident within 5 min. The knockdown of both Smad1 and Smad5 by small interfering RNA did not affect the activation of these MAPKs. In addition, neither the overexpression of Smad1 nor Smad5 induced ERK activation. When ERK activation was induced by constitutively active MEK1 expression, the protein level and activation of Smad1 increased. Furthermore, the inhibition of constitutively active BMP receptor type IB-induced ERK activation significantly suppressed Smad1 activation. These results indicate that Smad1/5 activation is not necessary for BMP2-induced MAPK activation and also that ERK positively regulates Smad1 activation.

Mutations in DLX3 are associated with both autosomal dominant hypoplastic hypomaturation amelogenesis imperfecta (ADHHAI) and tricho-dento-osseous (TDO) syndrome. ADHHAI is caused by a c.561_562delCT (2bp-del DLX3) mutation whereas TDO syndrome is associated with a c.571_574delGGGG (4bp-del DLX3) mutation. However, although the causal relationships between DLX3 and an enamel phenotype have been established, the pathophysiological role of DLX3 mutations in enamel development has not yet been clarified. In our current study, we prepared expression vectors for wild type and deletion mutant DLX3 products (4bp-del DLX3, 2bp-del DLX3) and examined the effects of their overexpression on the expression of the enamel matrix proteins and proteases. Wild type DLX3 enhanced the expression of matrix metalloprotease 20 (MMP20) mRNA and protein in murine ameloblast-like cells. However, neither a 4bp-del nor 2bp-del DLX3 increased MMP20 expression. Wild type DLX3, but not the above DLX3 mutants, also increased the activity of reporters containing 1.5 kb or 0.5 kb of the MMP20 promoter. An examination of protein stability showed that the half-life of wild type DLX3 protein was less than 12 h whilst that of both deletion mutants was longer than 24 h. Endogenous Dlx3 was also found to be continuously expressed during ameloblast differentiation. Since inactivating mutations in the gene encoding MMP20 are associated with amelogenesis imperfecta, the inability of 4bp-del or 2bp-del DLX3 to induce MMP20 expression suggests a possible involvement of such mutations in the enamel phenotype associated with TDO syndrome or ADHHAI.

Reparative dentine formation requires newly differentiated odontoblast-like cells. Therefore, identification of the molecule that stimulates the odontogenic differentiation of precursor cells in the tooth pulp will be helpful for the development of strategies to repair damaged pulp. In this study, we examined the effect of N-acetylcysteine (NAC) on the odontogenic differentiation of MDPC-23 cells, a mouse odontoblast-like cell line derived from dental papilla, and primary cultured rat dental papilla cells (RDPCs). NAC (1-30 mM) suppressed production of reactive oxygen species in MDPC-23 cells in a dose-dependent manner. Although 5 to 20 mM NAC did not alter MDPC-23 cell proliferation, 1 or 30 mM NAC significantly inhibited it. NAC enhanced mineralized nodule formation and the expression of several odontoblast differentiation-associated genes in both RDPCs and MDPC-23. This NAC stimulatory effect was significant, even at concentrations lower than 1 mM. However, NAC did not stimulate expression of bone morphogenetic protein-2, -4, or -7, which are known to enhance odontogenic differentiation. Since reactive oxygen species are also involved in the pulp toxicity of resin-based restorative materials, these results suggest that NAC may be a promising candidate for supplementation of dental restorative materials in order to enhance reparative dentine formation.

In the process of bone remodeling, mineral phase of bone is dissolved by osteoclasts, resulting in elevation of calcium concentration in micro-environment. This study was performed to explore the effect of high extracellular calcium (Cα²+e) on mineralized nodule formation and on the expression of progressive ankylosis (Ank), plasma cell membrane glycoprotein-1 (PC-1) and osteopontin by primary cultured mouse calvarial cells. Osteoblastic differentiation and mineralized nodule formation was induced by culture of mouse calvarial cells in osteoblast differentiation medium containing ascorbic acid and β-glycerophosphate. Although Ank, PC-1 and osteopontin are well known inhibitors of mineralization, expression of these genes were induced at the later stage of osteoblast differentiation during when expression of osteocalcin, a late marker gene of osteoblast differentiation, was induced and mineralization was actively progressing. High Cα²+e(10 mM) treatment highly enhanced mRNA expression of Ank, PC-1 and osteopontin in the late stage of osteoblast differentiation but not in the early stage. Inhibition of p44/42 MAPK activation but not that of protein kinase C suppressed high Cα²+e- induced expression of Ank, PC-1 and osteopontin. When high Cα²+e (5 mM or 10 mM) was present in culture medium during when mineral deposition was actively progressing, matrix calcifiation was significantly increased by high Cα²+e. This stimulatory effect was abolished by pyrophosphate (5 mM) or levamisole (0.1-0.5 mM), an alkaline phosphatase inhibitor. In addition, probenecid (2mM), an inhibitor of Ank, suppressed matrix calcification in both control and high Cα²+e- treated group, suggesting the possible role of Ank in matrix calcification by osteoblasts. Taken together, these results showed that high Cα²+e stimulates expression of Ank, PC-1 and osteopontin as well as matrix calcification in late differentiation stage of osteoblasts and that p44/42 MAPK activation is involved in high Cα²+e- induced expression of Ank, PC-1 and osteopontin.

Dlx3 is a homeodomain protein and is known to play a role in development and differentiation of many tissues. Deletion of four base pairs in DLX3 (NT3198) is causally related to tricho-dento-osseous (TDO) syndrome (OMIM #190320), a genetic disorder manifested by taurodontism, hair abnormalities, and increased bone density in the cranium. The molecular mechanisms that explain the phenotypic characteristics of TDO syndrome have not been clearly determined. In this study, we examined phenotypic characteristics of wild type DLX3(wtDlx3) and 4-BP DEL DLX3 (TDO mtDlx3) in C2C12 cells. To investigate how wtDlx3 and TDO mtDlx3 differentially regulate osteoblastic differentiation, reporter assays were performed by using luciferase reporters containing the promoters of alkaline phosphatase, bone sialoprotein or osteocalcin. Both wtDlx3 and TDO mtDlx3 enhanced significantly all the reporter activities but the effect of mtDlx3 was much weaker than that of wtDlx3. In spite of these differences in reporter activity, electrophoretic mobility shift assay showed that both wtDlx3 and TDO mtDlx3 formed similar amounts of DNA binding complexes with Dlx3 binding consensus sequence or with ALP promoter oligonucleotide bearing the Dlx3 binding core sequence. TDO mtDlx3 exhibits a longer half-life than wtDlx3 and it corresponds to PESTfind analysis result showing that potential PEST sequence was missed in carboxy terminal of TDO mtDlx3. In addition, co-immunoprecipitation demonstrated that TDO mtDlx3 binds to Msx2 more strongly than wtDlx3. Taken together, though TDO mtDlx3 acted as a weaker transcriptional activator than wtDlx3 in osteoblastic cells, there is possibility that during in vivo osteoblast differentiation TDO mtDlx3 may antagonize transcriptional repressor activity of Msx2 more effectively and for longer period than wtDlx3, resulting in enhancement of osteoblast differentiation.

Dlx3 is a homeodomain protein and is known to playa role in development and differentiation of many tissues. Deletion of four base pairs in DLX3 (NT3198) is causally related to tricho-dento-osseous (TDO) syndrome (OMIM # 190320), a genetic disorder manifested by taurodontism, hair abnormalities, and increased bone density in the cranium. Although the observed defects of TDO syndrome involves bone, little is known about the role of Dlx3 in bone remodeling process. In this study, we examined the effect of wild type DLX3 (wtDlx3) expression on osteoclast differentiation and compared it with that of 4-BP DEL DLX3 (TDO mtDlx3). To examine whether Dlx3 is expressed during RANKL-induced osteoclast differentiation, RAW264.7 cells were cultured in the presence of receptor activator of nuclear factor-B ligand (RANKL). Dlx3 protein level increased slightly after RANKL treatment for 1 day and peaked when the fusion of prefusion osteoclasts actively progressed. When wtDlx3 and TDO mtDlx3 were overexpressed in RAW264.7 cells, they enhanced RANKL-induced osteoclastogenesis and the expression of osteoclast differentiation marker genes such as calcitonin receptor, vitronectin receptor and cathepsin K. Since osteoclast differentiation is critically regulated by the balance between RANKL and osteoprotegerin (OPG), we examined the effect of Dlx3 overexpression on expression of RANKL and OPG in C2C12 cells in the presence of bone morphogenetic protein 2. Overexpression of wtDlx3 enhanced RANKL mRNA expression while slightly suppressed OPG expression. However, TDO mtDlx3 did not exert significant effects. This result suggests that inability of TDO mtDlx3 to regulate expression of RANKL and OPG may contribute to increased bone density in TDO syndrome patients. Taken together, it is suggested that Dlx3 playa role as a positive regulator of osteoclast differentiation via up-regulation of osteoclast differentiation-associated genes in osteoclasts, as well as via increasing the ratio of RANKL to OPG in osteoblastic cells.

Tooth loss in elderly is mainly caused by alveolar bone loss via severe periodontitis. Although the severity of periodontitis is known to be affected by age, the aging process or the genetic changes during the aging of periodontal tissue cells are not well characterized. In this study, we investigated the effect of in vitro aging on the change of gene expression pattern in periodontal fibroblasts. Gingival fibroblasts (GF) and periodontal ligament fibroblasts (PDL) were obtained from two young patients and replicative senescence was induced by sequential subcultivation. When more than 90% cells were positively stained with senescence-associated β-galactosidase, those cells were regarded as aged cells. In aged GF and PDL, the level of phosphorylated retinoblastoma (RB) and p16INK4A protein was significantly decreased and increased, respectively. However, the protein level of p53 and p21, well known senescence-inducing genes, did not increase in aged GF and PDL. Although P27Kip1 and p15INK4B, another cyclin-dependent kinase inhibitors, were reported to be involved in replicative senescence of human cells, they were decreased in aged GF and PDL. Because senescent cells showed flattened and enlarged cell shape and are known to have increased focal adhesion, we examined the protein level of several integrins. Aged GF and PDL showed increased protein level of integrin α2, αu, and β1. When the gene expression profiles of actively proliferating young cells and aged cells were compared by cDNA microarray of 3,063 genes and were confirmed by reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction, 7 genes and 15 genes were significantly and commonly increased and decreased, respectively, in aged GF and PDL. Among them, included are the genes that were known to be involved in the regulation of cell cycle, gene transcription, or integrin signaling. The change of gene expression pattern in GF and PDL was minimally similar to that of oral keratinocyte. These results suggest that p16INK4A/RB might be involved in replicative senescence of periodontal fibroblasts and the change of gene expression profile during aging process is cell type specific.

Calcium concentration in the bone resorption lacunae is high and is in the mM concentration range. Both osteoblast and osteoclast have calcium sensing receptor in the cell surface, suggesting the regulatory role of high extracellular calcium in bone metabolism. In vitro, high extracellular calcium stimulated osteoclastogenesis in coculture of mouse osteoblasts and bone marrow cells. Therefore we examined the genes that were commonly regulated by both high extracellular calcium and 1.25(OH)₂vitaminD₃(VD3) by using mouse oligo 11 K gene chip. In the presence of 10 mM [Ca²+]e or 10 nM VD3, mouse calvarial osteoblasts and bone marrow cells were co-cultured for 4 days when tartrate resistant acid phosphatase-positive multinucleated cells start to appear. Of 11,000 genes examined, the genes commonly regulated both by high extracellular calcium and by VD3 were as follows; 1) the expression of genes which were osteoclast differentiation markers or were associated with osteoclastogenesis were up-regulated both by high extracellular calcium and by VD3; trap, mmp9, car2, ctsk, ckb, atp6b2, tm7sf4, rab7, 2) several chemokine and chemokine receptor genes such as sdf1, scya2, scyb5, scya6, scya8, scya9, and ccr1 were up-regulated both by high extracellular calcium and by VD3, 3) the genes such as mmp1b, mmp3 and c3 which possibly stimulate bone resorption by osteoclast, were commonly up-regulated, 4) the gene such as c1q and msr2 which were related with macrophage function, were commonly down-regulated, 5) the genes which possibly stimulate osteoblast differentiation and/or mineralization of extracellular matrix, were commonly down-regulated; slc8a1, admr, plod2, lox, fosb, 6) the genes which possibly suppress osteoblast differentiation and/or mineralization of extracellular matrix, were commonly up-regulated; s100a4, npr3, mme, 7) the genes such as calponin 1 and tgfbi which possibly suppress osteoblast differentiation and/or mineralization of extracellular matrix, were up-regulated by high extracellular calcium but were down-regulated by VD3. These results suggest that in coculture condition, both high extracellular calcium and VD3 commonly induce osteoclastogenesis but suppress osteoblast differentiation/mineralization by regulating the expression of related genes.

Recently, we reported that high extracellular calcium increased receptor activator of nuclear factor- xB ligand (RANKL) expression via p44/42 mitogen-activated protein kinase (p44/42 MAPK) activation in mouse osteoblasts. However, the mechanism for p44/42 MAPK activation by high extracellular calcium is unclear. In this study, we examined the role of intracellular calcium increase in high extracellular calcium-induced RANKL induction and p44/42 MAPK activation. Primary cultured mouse calvarial osteoblasts were used. RANKL expression was highly induced by 10 mM calcium treatment. Ionomycin, a calcium ionophore, also increased RANKL expression and activated p44/42 MAPK. U0126, an inhibitor of MEK1/2, an upstream activator of p44/42 MAPK, blocked the RANKL induction by both high extracellular calcium and ionomycin. High extracellular calcium increased the phosphorylation of proline-rich tyrosine kinase 2 (Pyk2), one of the known upstream regulators of p44/42 MAPK activation. Bisindolylmaleimide, an inhibitor of protein kinase C, did not block RANKL induction and p44/42 MAPK activation induced by high extracellular calcium. 2-Aminoethoxydiphenyl borate, an inhibitor of inositol 1,4,5-trisphosphate (IP3) receptor, blocked the RANKL induction by high extracellular calcium. It also partially suppressed the activation of Pyk2 and p44/42 MAPK. Cyclosporin A, an inhibitor of calcineurin, also inhibited high calcium-induced RANKL expression in dose dependent manner. However, cyclosporin A did not affect the activation of Pyk2 and p44/42 MAPK by high extracellular calcium treatment. These results suggest that 1) the increase in intracellular calcium via IP3-mediated calcium release is necessary for RANKL induction by high extracellular calcium treatment, 2) Pyk2 activation, but not protein kinase C, following the increase in intracellular calcium might be involved in p44/42 MAPK activation, and 3) calcineurin-NFAT activation by the increase in intracellular calcium is involved in RANKL induction by high extracellular calcium treatment.

The elderly suffer from an impaired immune function being obvious in a higher susceptibility to infections. Although the inflammatory cells are the major immunomodulatory cells, fibroblasts also secrete a variety of inflammatory cytokines and chemokines. Therefore periodontal tissue aging might playa role in development and progress of periodontitis. In this study, we investigated the effect of in vitro periodontal ligament cellular aging on the inflammatory cytokines, chemokines, and matrix metalloprotease(MMP)-2 expression induced by lipopolysaccharide(LPS) treatment. Three different cell populations were used; passages 4-5, 14-15, and 24-25 (at passage 27, more than 90% cells were replicative senescent). LPS increased the expression of interleukin(IL)-1β, IL-6, and tumor necrosis factor-α, IL-8, RANTES, and MMP-2. However, the order of induction folds were passages 14-15 > 4-5 > 24-25. While the expression level of Toll-like receptor(TLR) 4 decreased according to the increase in passage number, the level of TLR2 was highest at passages 14-15 and then decreased at passages 24-25. While the spontaneous expression of IL-8 decreased according to the increase in passage number, that of RANTES and proMMP-2 increased according to the increase in passage number. These results suggest that the aging of periodontal ligament fibroblasts differentially affect the role as immunomodulatory cells in response to periodontopathic bacteria and therefore might be another risk factor of periodontitis progression.