title: Mesenchymal and embryonic characteristics of stem cells obtained from mouse dental pulp.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Several studies have demonstrated that human dental pulp is a source of mesenchymal stem cells. To better understand the biological properties of these cells we isolated and characterized stem cells from the dental pulp of EGFP transgenic mice.
  
  
  METHODS
  The pulp tissue was gently separated from the roots of teeth extracted from C57BL/6 mice, and cultured under appropriate conditions. Flow cytometry, RT-PCR, light microscopy (staining for alkaline phosphatase) and immunofluorescence were used to investigate the expression of stem cell markers. The presence of chromosomal abnormalities was evaluated by G banding.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The mouse dental pulp stem cells (mDPSC) were highly proliferative, plastic-adherent, and exhibited a polymorphic morphology predominantly with stellate or fusiform shapes. The presence of cell clusters was observed in cultures of mDPSC. Some cells were positive for alkaline phosphatase. The karyotype was normal until the 5th passage. The Pou5f1/Oct-4 and ZFP42/Rex-1, but not Nanog transcripts were detected in mDPSC. Flow cytometry and fluorescence analyses revealed the presence of a heterogeneous population positive for embryonic and mesenchymal cell markers. Adipogenic, chondrogenic and osteogenic differentiation was achieved after two weeks of cell culture under chemically defined in vitro conditions. In addition, some elongated cells spontaneously acquired a contraction capacity.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Our results reinforce that the dental pulp is an important source of adult stem cells and encourage studies on therapeutic potential of mDPSC in experimental disease models.
authors.affiliation: Centro de Pesquisas Gonçalo Moniz, FIOCRUZ, Salvador, Bahia, Brazil.
authors.forename: Elisalva Teixeira
authors.initials: ET
authors.lastname: Guimarães
authors.forename: Gabriela Silva
authors.initials: GS
authors.lastname: Cruz
authors.forename: Alan Araújo
authors.initials: AA
authors.lastname: de Jesus
authors.forename: Acácia Fernandes
authors.initials: AF
authors.lastname: Lacerda de Carvalho
authors.forename: Silvia Regina
authors.initials: SR
authors.lastname: Rogatto
authors.forename: Lygia da Veiga
authors.initials: Lda V
authors.lastname: Pereira
authors.forename: Ricardo
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Ribeiro-dos-Santos
authors.forename: Milena Botelho Pereira
authors.initials: MB
authors.lastname: Soares
mesh_terms: D050156:Adipogenesis; D053687:Adult Stem Cells / Q000166:cytology*; D000818:Animals; D002454:Cell Differentiation; D020219:Chondrogenesis; D004268:DNA-Binding Proteins / Q000096:biosynthesis / Q000235:genetics; D003782:Dental Pulp / Q000166:cytology* / Q000196:embryology*; D053595:Embryonic Stem Cells / Q000166:cytology*; D005434:Flow Cytometry; D005819:Genetic Markers; D059785:Karyotype; D008297:Male; D059630:Mesenchymal Stem Cells / Q000166:cytology*; D051379:Mice; D008810:Mice, Inbred C57BL; D008822:Mice, Transgenic; D050814:Octamer Transcription Factor-3 / Q000096:biosynthesis / Q000235:genetics; D010012:Osteogenesis; D010641:Phenotype; D014157:Transcription Factors / Q000096:biosynthesis / Q000235:genetics
chemical_list: D004268:DNA-Binding Proteins; C484557:Ebfaz protein, mouse; D005819:Genetic Markers; D050814:Octamer Transcription Factor-3; C494174:Pou5f1 protein, mouse; D014157:Transcription Factors