SSEA-4 is a marker of human deciduous periodontal ligament stem cells.
Although human deciduous teeth are an ideal source of adult stem cells, no method for identifying deciduous periodontal ligament (D-PDL) stem cells has so far been developed. In the present study, we investigated whether stage-specific embryonic antigen (SSEA)-4 is a marker that could be used to isolate D-PDL stem cells. The isolated D-PDL cells met the minimum criteria for mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs): They showed plastic adherence, specific-surface antigen expression, and multipotent differentiation potential. SSEA-4+ D-PDL cells were detected in vitro and in vivo. A flow cytometric analysis demonstrated that 22.7% of the D-PDL cells were positive for SSEA-4. SSEA-4+ clonal D-PDL cells displayed multilineage differentiation potential: They were able to differentiate into adipocytes, osteoblasts, and chondrocytes in vitro. A clonal assay demonstrated that 61.5% of the SSEA-4+ D-PDL cells had adipogenic, osteogenic, and chondrogenic potential. Our present study demonstrated that SSEA-4+ D-PDL cells are a subset of multipotent stem cells. Hence, SSEA-4 is a specific marker that can be used to identify D-PDL stem cells.
Department of Orthodontics, Graduate School of Medicine, Dentistry and Pharmaceutical Sciences, Okayama University, Okayama, Japan.
H
H
Fukushima
N
N
Kawanabe
S
S
Murata
Y
Y
Ishihara
T
T
Yanagita
T A
TA
Balam
T
T
Yamashiro
D050156:Adipogenesis; D053687:Adult Stem Cells / Q000276:immunology; D015415:Biomarkers; D002454:Cell Differentiation; D002478:Cells, Cultured; D002648:Child; D020219:Chondrogenesis; D003114:Colony-Forming Units Assay; D005434:Flow Cytometry; D006801:Humans; D039902:Multipotent Stem Cells / Q000276:immunology*; D010012:Osteogenesis; D010513:Periodontal Ligament / Q000166:cytology*; D055746:Stage-Specific Embryonic Antigens; D014094:Tooth, Deciduous / Q000166:cytology*
D015415:Biomarkers; D055746:Stage-Specific Embryonic Antigens; C066584:stage-specific embryonic antigen-4