Description
The cementum is a mineralized tissue lining the tooth root surface and shares many properties with mineralized tissues such as the bone. It has a role in reparative activities, the regeneration of tissues, and is responsible in maintaining healthy periodontium. The Immortalized Mouse Cementoblasts is immortalized with mouse SV40 large T antigen, and retains phenotypic characteristics of the primary cells such as the expression of parathyroid hormone 1 receptor (PTH-1), noncollagenous proteins (BSP, OC, OPN), and type I collagen. Furthermore, this cell line has been shown to respond to the presence of the parathyroid hormone (PTH) and the parathyroid hormone-related protein (PTHrP), and is able to stimulate mineral nodule formation, which makes it a useful tool to study the mechanisms involved in regulating the molecular biological activity and properties of the cementum or mineralized tissues, biomineralization, and affects of the PTH-1 receptor