| Summary: | Odontoblasts are involved in sensory generation as sensory receptor cells and in dentin formation. We previously reported that an increase in intracellular cAMP levels by cannabinoid 1 receptor activation induces Ca<sup>2+</sup> influx via transient receptor potential vanilloid subfamily member 1 channels in odontoblasts, indicating that intracellular cAMP/Ca<sup>2+</sup> signal coupling is involved in dentinal pain generation and reactionary dentin formation. Here, intracellular cAMP dynamics in cultured human odontoblasts were investigated to understand the detailed expression patterns of the intracellular cAMP signaling pathway activated by the G<sub>s</sub> protein-coupled receptor and to clarify its role in cellular functions. The presence of plasma membrane Gα<sub>s</sub> as well as prostaglandin I<sub>2</sub> (IP), 5-hydroxytryptamine 5-HT<sub>4</sub> (5-HT<sub>4</sub>), dopamine D<sub>1</sub> (D<sub>1</sub>), adenosine A<sub>2A</sub> (A<sub>2A</sub>), and vasoactive intestinal polypeptide (VIP) receptor immunoreactivity was observed in human odontoblasts. In the presence of extracellular Ca<sup>2+</sup>, the application of agonists for the IP (beraprost), 5-HT<sub>4</sub> (BIMU8), D<sub>1</sub> (SKF83959), A<sub>2A</sub> (PSB0777), and VIP (VIP) receptors increased intracellular cAMP levels. This increase in cAMP levels was inhibited by the application of the adenylyl cyclase (AC) inhibitor SQ22536 and each receptor antagonist, dose-dependently. These results suggested that odontoblasts express G<sub>s</sub> protein-coupled IP, 5-HT<sub>4</sub>, D<sub>1</sub>, A<sub>2A</sub>, and VIP receptors. In addition, activation of these receptors increased intracellular cAMP levels by activating AC in odontoblasts.
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