No abstract

:Connexins are gap junction proteins forming hexameric structures in plasma membranes of adjacent cells, creating intercellular channels. Connexin 43 (CX43) is expressed in pulp tissue. However, its function in dental pulp tissue has yet to be fully investigated. In the present study, we employed antisense oligonucleotides (AS) against rat CX43 to investigate the role of CX43 in dental pulp cells. We treated cultured dental pulp cells with AS or sense (S) oligonucleotides. The number of cells in the AS-treated groups was about 1.3-fold that in the S-treated controls. Growth rates were significantly different between the AS-and S-treated groups at 48 h (p<0.01). An alkaline phosphate assay revealed that AS-treated pulp cells dramatically decreased at 48 h after AS incorporation, while S-treated pulp cells showed no marked changes.Western blot analysis showed that HSP25 was highly expressed in S-treated cells, but was only weakly expressed in AS-treated cells at 48 h. Furthermore, AS-treated cells showed high expression of CX45. On the other hand, S-treated cells showed high expression of CX32. These results suggest that CX43 is involved in cell growth, mineralization and differentiation to odontoblasts in rat pulp cells, and that CX43 plays the opposite role to that of CX45.3