Abstract:

Objective　To investigate the characterization of Notch gene involved in genetic regulatory networks in dental pulp stem cells.Methods　The pulp tissue was separated frommouse teeth and digested by collagenase type I. Single-cell suspensions of dental pulp were seeded into 6-well plates with alpha modification of Eagle′s medium supplemented with ES cell qualified Fetal Bovine Serum. Colony-forming efficiency was assessed in 14ds culture. Transcripts for Notch were detected by reverse transcrip- tion-PCR by using total RNA isolated from cells.Results　There were clonogenic cells in dental pulp cell and the incidence of colony-forming cells derived from mouse dental pulp cells was 1·6~2·5 colonies/104plate. Mouse-specific Notch mRNA ex- pressed in colony-forming cells.Conclusion　Notch mRNA expressing in colony-forming cells provided a more detailed under- standing of mouse dental pulp stem cell biology.

Key words: dental pulp stem cells, Notch, tooth differentiation, reverse transcription-PCR