Downregulation of Prolactin-Induced Protein Promotes Osteogenic Differentiation of Periodontal Ligament Stem Cells

BACKGROUND: Periodontal ligament stem cells (PDLSCs) are promising seed cells for bone tissue engineering and periodontal regeneration applications. However, the mechanism underlying the osteogenic differentiation process remains largely unknown. Previous reports showed that prolactin-induced protein (PIP) was upregulated after PDLSCs osteogenic induction. However, few studies have reported on the function of PIP in osteogenic differentiation. The purpose of the present study was to investigate the effect of PIP on osteogenic differentiation of PDLSCs. MATERIAL/METHODS: The expression pattern of PIP during PDLSCs osteogenic differentiation was detected and the effect of each component in the osteogenic induction medium on PIP was also tested by qRT-PCR. Then, the PIP knockdown cells were established using lentivirus. The knockdown efficiency was measured and the proliferation, apoptosis, and osteogenic differentiation ability were examined to determine the functional role of PIP on PDLSCs. RESULTS: QRT-PCR showed that PIP was sustainedly upregulated during the osteogenic induction process and the phenomenon was mainly caused by the stimulation of dexamethasone in the induction medium. CCK-8 and flow cytometer showed that knocking down PIP had no influence on proliferation and apoptosis of PDLSCs. ALP staining and activity, Alizarin Red staining, and western blot analysis demonstrated PIP knockdown enhanced the osteogenic differentiation and mineralization of PDLSCs. CONCLUSIONS: PIP was upregulated after osteogenic induction; however, PIP knockdown promoted PDLSCs osteogenic differentiation. PIP might be a by-product of osteogenic induction, and downregulating of PIP might be a new target in bone tissue engineering applications.