Influence of 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D3 on cell proliferation during odontogenesis of the mouse embryonic molars in vitro.

Mandibular first molars from 17-day-old mouse embryos were cultured for 2 and 4 days in alpha-MEM supplemented with 10% newborn bovine serum containing 0.02% ethanol or 0.1, 1.0 or 10 ng/ml 1,25-(OH)2D3. After embedding, every 6th section was stained and mitotic features of inner dental epithelium (IDE) and dental papilla cells (DP) were counted under a light microscope. On the 2nd day, no significant differences were observed in the IDE and DP mitotic indexes among the control, ethanol, and the three vitamin D groups. On the 4th day, the indexes for all groups decreased. But the IDE indexes for all vitamin D groups were significantly different from those for the control (P less than 0.01) and ethanol (P less than 0.05) groups, whereas the DP index was significant (P less than 0.05) only in the 10 ng/ml vitamin D group. The present results suggest that vitamin D3 may have an influence on cell proliferation of IDE and DP in mouse embryonic molars in vitro.