Department of Orthodontics, Peking University School and Hospital of Stomatology, Beijing, People's Republic of China.
National Center of Stomatology, National Clinical Research Center for Oral Diseases, National Engineering Laboratory for Digital and Material Technology of Stomatology, Beijing, China.
J Cell Physiol. 2023 Sep;238(9):2147-2160. doi: 10.1002/jcp.31075. Epub 2023 Jul 21.
Repair of orthodontic external root resorption and periodontal tissue dysfunction induced by mechanical force remains a clinical challenge. Cementoblasts are vital in cementum mineralization, a process important for restoring damaged cementum. Despite autophagy plays a role in mineralization under various environmental stimuli, the underlying mechanism of autophagy in mediating cementoblast mineralization remains unclear. Here we verified that murine cementoblasts exhibit compromised mineralization under compressive force. Autophagy was indispensable for cementoblast mineralization, and autophagic activation markedly reversed cementoblast mineralization and prevented cementum damage in mice during tooth movement. Subsequently, messenger RNA sequencing analyses identified periostin (Postn) as a mediator of autophagy and mineralization in cementoblasts. Cementoblast mineralization was significantly inhibited following the knockdown of Postn. Furthermore, Postn silencing suppressed Wnt signaling by modulating the stability of β-catenin. Together our results highlight the role of autophagy in cementoblast mineralization via Postn/β-catenin signaling under compressive force and may provide a new strategy for the remineralization of cementum and regeneration of periodontal tissue.
正畸外力诱导的牙根吸收和牙周组织功能障碍的修复仍然是临床面临的挑战。成牙骨质细胞对于牙骨质矿化至关重要，牙骨质矿化是修复受损牙骨质的重要过程。尽管自噬在各种环境刺激下的矿化过程中发挥作用，但自噬在调节成牙骨质细胞矿化中的潜在机制尚不清楚。在这里，我们验证了在机械压力下，鼠类成牙骨质细胞的矿化功能受损。自噬对于成牙骨质细胞的矿化是必不可少的，自噬的激活显著逆转了牙移动过程中成牙骨质细胞的矿化和防止了牙骨质的损伤。随后，信使 RNA 测序分析鉴定了外胚层蛋白（Postn）是成牙骨质细胞中自噬和矿化的介质。Postn 敲低后，成牙骨质细胞矿化明显受到抑制。此外，Postn 沉默通过调节β-连环蛋白的稳定性抑制 Wnt 信号通路。总之，我们的研究结果强调了自噬通过 Postn/β-连环蛋白信号通路在机械压力下对成牙骨质细胞矿化的作用，并为牙骨质的再矿化和牙周组织的再生提供了新的策略。
