A hydrogel scaffold that maintains viability and supports differentiation of dental pulp stem cells.
OBJECTIVE
The clinical translation of stem cell-based Regenerative Endodontics demands further development of suitable injectable scaffolds. Puramatrix™ is a defined, self-assembling peptide hydrogel which instantaneously polymerizes under normal physiological conditions. Here, we assessed the compatibility of Puramatrix™ with dental pulp stem cell (DPSC) growth and differentiation.


METHODS
DPSC cells were grown in 0.05-0.25% Puramatrix™. Cell viability was measured colorimetrically using the WST-1 assay. Cell morphology was observed in 3D modeling using confocal microscopy. In addition, we used the human tooth slice model with Puramatrix™ to verify DPSC differentiation into odontoblast-like cells, as measured by expression of DSPP and DMP-1.


RESULTS
DPSC survived and proliferated in Puramatrix™ for at least three weeks in culture. Confocal microscopy revealed that cells seeded in Puramatrix™ presented morphological features of healthy cells, and some cells exhibited cytoplasmic elongations. Notably, after 21 days in tooth slices containing Puramatrix™, DPSC cells expressed DMP-1 and DSPP, putative markers of odontoblastic differentiation.


CONCLUSIONS
Collectively, these data suggest that self-assembling peptide hydrogels might be useful injectable scaffolds for stem cell-based Regenerative Endodontics.
Department of Cariology, Restorative Sciences, Endodontics, University of Michigan School of Dentistry, Ann Arbor, MI 48109-1078, USA.
Bruno N
BN
Cavalcanti
Benjamin D
BD
Zeitlin
Jacques E
JE
Nör
D002454:Cell Differentiation / Q000502:physiology*; D003782:Dental Pulp / Q000166:cytology / Q000378:metabolism*; D016326:Extracellular Matrix Proteins / Q000378:metabolism; D006801:Humans; D020100:Hydrogels / Q000494:pharmacology*; D008422:Materials Testing; D018613:Microscopy, Confocal; D009804:Odontoblasts / Q000378:metabolism*; D010455:Peptides / Q000737:chemistry*; D010750:Phosphoproteins / Q000378:metabolism; D060888:Real-Time Polymerase Chain Reaction; D012795:Sialoglycoproteins / Q000378:metabolism; D033581:Stem Cell Transplantation; D013234:Stem Cells / Q000378:metabolism*; D054457:Tissue Scaffolds / Q000737:chemistry*; D000099311:Dentin Sialophosphoprotein
D016326:Extracellular Matrix Proteins; D020100:Hydrogels; D010455:Peptides; D010750:Phosphoproteins; D012795:Sialoglycoproteins; D000099311:Dentin Sialophosphoprotein; C513309:DMP1 protein, human; C546681:RADA16-I