The amount of thrombospondin (TSP) mRNA in confluent clonal rat dental pulp cells was increased by transforming growth factor-β (TGF-β), 1α,25-dihydroxyvitamin D3 (1,25(OH)2D3), and phorbol 12,13-didecanoate (PDD), with maximal levels 6, 36 and 2 h, respectively, after stimulation. These increases were accompanied by enhanced syntheses of TSP proteins which were found in the different forms in cell layer/matrix fraction (198 and 165 kDa TSP) and the culture medium (180 kDa TSP). These three factors also raised the mRNA level of osteopontin, which is thought to play an important role in mineralization in dentin and bone. The order of effectiveness of these factors was PDD > TGF-β > 1,25(OH)2D3 for all the stimulations described above. These results suggest that the osteotropic factors enhance TSP synthesis at the pretranslational level and that TSP produced by dental pulp cells participates in formation of reparative dentin.
