Open AccessDistal C Terminus of CaV1.2 Channels Plays a Crucial Role in the Neural Differentiation of Dental Pulp Stem Cells
Author(s) -
Jianping Ge,
Yanqin Ju,
Zhigang Xue,
Yun Feng,
Xiaofeng Huang,
Hongwei Liu,
Shouliang Zhao
Publication year - 2013
Publication title -
plos one
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.99
H-Index - 332
ISSN - 1932-6203
DOI - 10.1371/journal.pone.0081332
Subject(s) - dental pulp stem cells , microbiology and biotechnology , neural stem cell , stem cell , cellular differentiation , small hairpin rna , gene knockdown , biology , cell culture , biochemistry , genetics , gene
L-type voltage-dependent Ca V 1.2 channels play an important role in the maintenance of intracellular calcium homeostasis, and influence multiple cellular processes. C-terminal cleavage of Ca V 1.2 channels was reported in several types of excitable cells, but its expression and possible roles in non-excitable cells is still not clear. The aim of this study was to determine whether distal C-terminal fragment of Ca V 1.2 channels is present in rat dental pulp stem cells and its possible role in the neural differentiation of rat dental pulp stem cells. We generated stable Ca V 1.2 knockdown cells via short hairpin RNA (shRNA). Rat dental pulp stem cells with deleted distal C-terminal of Ca V 1.2 channels lost the potential of differentiation to neural cells. Re-expression of distal C-terminal of Ca V 1.2 rescued the effect of knocking down the endogenous Ca V 1.2 on the neural differentiation of rat dental pulp stem cells, indicating that the distal C-terminal of Ca V 1.2 is required for neural differentiation of rat dental pulp stem cells. These results provide new insights into the role of voltage-gated Ca 2+ channels in stem cells during differentiation.