JAB1 accelerates odontogenic differentiation of dental pulp stem cells

Jun activation domain-binding protein 1 (JAB1) is a multifunctional protein that participates in the control of cell proliferation and the stability of multiple proteins. JAB1 regulates several key proteins, and thereby produces varied effects on cell cycle progression, genome stability and cell survival. Some studies have shown that the loss of JAB1 in osteochondral progenitor cells severely impairs embryonic limb development in mice. However, the biological significance of JAB1 activity in the odontogenic differentiation of dental pulp stem cells (DPSCs) remains unclear. This study aimed to determine the role of JAB1, a key player in tooth development, in reparative dentin formation, especially odontogenic differentiation. We found that increased expression of JAB1 promoted odontogenic differentiation of DPSCs via Wnt/β-catenin signaling. The role of JAB1 in the odontogenic differentiation of DPSCs was further confirmed by knocking down JAB1. Our findings provide novel insights on odontogenic differentiation of DPSCs.