title: Analysis of differentiation potentials and gene expression profiles of mesenchymal stem cells derived from periodontal ligament and Wharton's jelly of the umbilical cord.
abstract: PDLSC-mediated periodontal tissue regeneration is considered a promising method for periodontitis treatment, but the supply of PDLSCs is limited. As a potential alternative, WJCMSCs are readily available; however, there is a lack of evidence proving that WJCMSCs are suitable for periodontal tissue regeneration. In this study, we investigated the characteristics of WJCMSCs and PDLSCs. We found the osteo-/dentinogenic, adipogenic and chondrogenic differentiation potentials of PDLSCs were more powerful than those of WJCMSCs. Microarray analysis discovered that 903 genes were significantly down-regulated and 726 genes up-regulated in WJCMSCs compared with PDLSCs. Based on the microarray data, we found that several genes may be associated with MSCs characteristics. Further bioinformatic analysis identified that TGF-β and WNT signaling pathways, and several genes, including STAT5B and ITGA4, may play key roles in MSCs. Our results indicate that the differentiation potentials of WJCMSCs are far less than those of PDLSCs, and that unmodified WJCMSCs may not be good seeding cells for periodontal tissue regeneration. Our results also help to elucidate the differentiation mechanisms in MSCs and to find the key factors to prompt WJCMSC-mediated periodontal tissue regeneration.
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Molecular Signaling and Stem Cells Therapy, Molecular Laboratory for Gene Therapy and Tooth Regeneration, Beijing Key Laboratory of Tooth Regeneration and Function Reconstruction, Capital Medical University School of Stomatology, Beijing, China.
authors.forename: Shi
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Yu
authors.forename: Jie
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Long
authors.forename: Jinhua
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Yu
authors.forename: Juan
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Du
authors.forename: Ping
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Ma
authors.forename: Yushi
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Ma
authors.forename: Dongmei
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Yang
authors.forename: Zhipeng
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Fan
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D002454:Cell Differentiation / Q000502:physiology; D048708:Cell Growth Processes / Q000502:physiology; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D059630:Mesenchymal Stem Cells / Q000166:cytology / Q000378:metabolism / Q000502:physiology*; D010513:Periodontal Ligament / Q000166:cytology*; D059467:Transcriptome; D014470:Umbilical Cord / Q000166:cytology*; D059631:Wharton Jelly / Q000166:cytology*; D055815:Young Adult