G protein-coupled calcium-sensing receptor is a crucial mediator of MTA-induced biological activities.

ABSTRACT

Mineral trioxide aggregate (MTA) is a calcium silicate-based bioactive material that has been extensively used in dentistry. MTA has been highlighted in its diverse biological functions and excellent clinical outcomes. However, limited insight into the intracellular signaling pathways has been provided to explain the biological activities of MTA. Here, we firstly elucidate that the extracellular calcium-sensing receptor (CaSR) is a major signaling mediator of MTA-induced biological reactions through versatile live imaging techniques of human dental pulp cells (hDPCs). We found that MTA activates diverse CaSR downstream pathways; notably, CaSR activation essentially requires dual modulation of extracellular Ca2+ and pH via MTA. Among the CaSR downstream pathways, Ca2+ mobilization from intracellular stores by the phospholipase C pathway plays an important role in osteogenic differentiation of hDPCs by regulating transcriptional activity. Our findings shed light on the signal transduction mechanism of MTA, thus providing a crucial molecular basis for the use of MTA in regenerative dental therapy.