title: Differentiation of dental pulp stem cells into neuron-like cells in serum-free medium.
abstract: Dental pulp tissue contains dental pulp stem cells (DPSCs). Dental pulp cells (also known as dental pulp-derived mesenchymal stem cells) are capable of differentiating into multilineage cells including neuron-like cells. The aim of this study was to examine the capability of DPSCs to differentiate into neuron-like cells without using any reagents or growth factors. DPSCs were isolated from teeth extracted from 6- to 8-week-old mice and maintained in complete medium. The cells from the fourth passage were induced to differentiate by culturing in medium without serum or growth factors. RT-PCR molecular analysis showed characteristics of Cd146(+) , Cd166(+) , and Cd31(-) in DPSCs, indicating that these cells are mesenchymal stem cells rather than hematopoietic stem cells. After 5 days of neuronal differentiation, the cells showed neuron-like morphological changes and expressed MAP2 protein. The activation of Nestin was observed at low level prior to differentiation and increased after 5 days of culture in differentiation medium, whereas Tub3 was activated only after 5 days of neuronal differentiation. The proliferation of the differentiated cells decreased in comparison to that of the control cells. Dental pulp stem cells are induced to differentiate into neuron-like cells when cultured in serum- and growth factor-free medium.
authors.affiliation: School of Biosciences and Biotechnology, Faculty of Science and Technology, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, 43600 Bangi, Selangor, Malaysia.
authors.forename: Shahrul Hisham
authors.initials: SH
authors.lastname: Zainal Ariffin
authors.affiliation: School of Biosciences and Biotechnology, Faculty of Science and Technology, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, 43600 Bangi, Selangor, Malaysia.
authors.forename: Shabnam
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Kermani
authors.affiliation: School of Biosciences and Biotechnology, Faculty of Science and Technology, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, 43600 Bangi, Selangor, Malaysia.
authors.forename: Intan Zarina
authors.initials: IZ
authors.lastname: Zainol Abidin
authors.affiliation: Department of Orthodontics, Faculty of Dentistry, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, Jalan Raja Muda Abdul Aziz, 50300 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
authors.forename: Rohaya
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Megat Abdul Wahab
authors.affiliation: School of Biosciences and Biotechnology, Faculty of Science and Technology, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, 43600 Bangi, Selangor, Malaysia.
authors.forename: Zulham
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Yamamoto
authors.affiliation: School of Biosciences and Biotechnology, Faculty of Science and Technology, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, 43600 Bangi, Selangor, Malaysia.
authors.forename: Sahidan
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Senafi
authors.affiliation: School of Biology, Faculty of Applied Science, Universiti Teknologi MARA, 40450 Shah Alam, Selangor, Malaysia.
authors.forename: Zaidah
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Zainal Ariffin
authors.affiliation: Allianze University College of Medical Sciences, Waziria Medical Square, Jalan Bertam 2, 13200 Kepala Batas, Penang, Malaysia.
authors.forename: Mohamad
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Abdul Razak