title: Hard tissue regeneration capacity of apical pulp derived cells (APDCs) from human tooth with immature apex.
abstract: Recent studies indicate that dental pulp is a new source of adult stem cells. The human tooth with an immature apex is a developing organ, and the apical pulp of this tooth may contain a variety of progenitor/stem cells, which participate in root formation. We investigated the hard tissue regeneration potential of apical pulp derived cells (APDCs) from human tooth with an immature apex. APDCs cultured with a mineralization-promoting medium showed alkaline phosphatase activity in porous hydroxyapatite (HA) scaffolds. The composites of APDCs and HA were implanted subcutaneously in immunocompromised rats and harvested at 12 weeks after implantation. In histological analysis, the APDCs/HA composites exhibited bone- and dentine-like mineralized tissues in the pore areas of HA. This study suggests that the human tooth with an immature apex is an effective source of cells for hard tissue regeneration.
authors.affiliation: Maxillofacial Surgery, Maxillofacial Reconstruction and Function, Division of Maxillofacial and Neck Reconstruction, Graduate School, Tokyo Medical and Dental University, 1-5-45, Yushima, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo 113-8549, Japan.
authors.forename: Shigehiro
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Abe
authors.forename: Satoshi
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Yamaguchi
authors.forename: Akihiko
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Watanabe
authors.forename: Keiichi
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Hamada
authors.forename: Teruo
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Amagasa
mesh_terms: D000469:Alkaline Phosphatase / Q000032:analysis; D000818:Animals; D001861:Bone Regeneration; D018786:Bone Substitutes; D002113:Calcification, Physiologic; D002454:Cell Differentiation; D002478:Cells, Cultured; D003782:Dental Pulp / Q000166:cytology* / Q000502:physiology*; D003810:Dentinogenesis; D017886:Durapatite / Q000737:chemistry; D006801:Humans; D051381:Rats; D012038:Regeneration; D023822:Tissue Engineering; D019227:Tooth Apex / Q000166:cytology* / Q000502:physiology*; D014074:Tooth Calcification
chemical_list: D018786:Bone Substitutes; D017886:Durapatite; D000469:Alkaline Phosphatase