title: Plasticity of human dental pulp stromal cells with bioengineering platforms: a versatile tool for regenerative medicine.
abstract: In recent years, human dental pulp stromal cells (DPSCs) have received growing attention due to their characteristics in common with other mesenchymal stem cells, in addition to the ease with which they can be harvested. In this study, we demonstrated that the isolation of DPSCs from third molar teeth of healthy individuals allowed the recovery of dental mesenchymal stem cells that showed self-renewal and multipotent differentiation capability. DPSCs resulted positive for CD73, CD90, CD105, STRO-1, negative for CD34, CD45, CD14 and were able to differentiate into osteogenic and chondrogenic cells. We also assayed the angiogenic potential of DPSCs, their capillary tube-like formation was assessed using an in vitro angiogenesis assay and the uptake of acetylated low-density lipoprotein was measured as a marker of endothelial function. Based on these results, DPSCs were capable of differentiating into cells with phenotypic and functional features of endothelial cells. Furthermore, this study investigated the growth and differentiation of human DPSCs under a variety of bioengineering platforms, such as low frequency ultrasounds, tissue engineering and nanomaterials. DPSCs showed an enhanced chondrogenic differentiation under ultrasound application. Moreover, DPSCs were tested on different scaffolds, poly(vinyl alcohol)/gelatin (PVA/G) sponges and human plasma clots. We showed that both PVA/G and human plasma clot are suitable scaffolds for adhesion, growth and differentiation of DPSCs toward osteoblastic lineages. Finally, we evaluated the interactions of DPSCs with a novel class of nanomaterials, namely boron nitride nanotubes (BNNTs). From our investigation, DPSCs have appeared as a highly versatile cellular tool to be employed in regenerative medicine.
authors.affiliation: Department of Clinical and Experimental Medicine, University of Pisa, Italy. Electronic address: s.barachini@med.unipi.it.
authors.forename: Serena
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Barachini
authors.affiliation: Department of Surgical, Medical, Molecular Pathology and Emergency Medicine, University of Pisa, Italy.
authors.forename: Serena
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Danti
authors.affiliation: Department of Clinical and Experimental Medicine, University of Pisa, Italy.
authors.forename: Simone
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Pacini
authors.affiliation: Department of Surgical, Medical, Molecular Pathology and Emergency Medicine, University of Pisa, Italy.
authors.forename: Delfo
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: D'Alessandro
authors.affiliation: Department of Surgical, Medical, Molecular Pathology and Emergency Medicine, University of Pisa, Italy.
authors.forename: Vittoria
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Carnicelli
authors.affiliation: Department of Clinical and Experimental Medicine, University of Pisa, Italy.
authors.forename: Luisa
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Trombi
authors.affiliation: Department of Clinical and Experimental Medicine, University of Pisa, Italy.
authors.forename: Stefania
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Moscato
authors.affiliation: Department of Clinical and Experimental Medicine, University of Pisa, Italy.
authors.forename: Claudio
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Mannari
authors.affiliation: Department of Surgical, Medical, Molecular Pathology and Emergency Medicine, University of Pisa, Italy.
authors.forename: Silvia
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Cei
authors.affiliation: Department of Clinical and Experimental Medicine, University of Pisa, Italy.
authors.forename: Mario
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Petrini
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D057005:Bioengineering / Q000379:methods*; D002454:Cell Differentiation / Q000502:physiology; D002470:Cell Survival; D003782:Dental Pulp / Q000166:cytology* / Q000502:physiology; D006801:Humans; D059630:Mesenchymal Stem Cells / Q000166:cytology / Q000502:physiology; D010012:Osteogenesis / Q000502:physiology; D044968:Regenerative Medicine / Q000379:methods*; D017154:Stromal Cells / Q000166:cytology* / Q000502:physiology; D054457:Tissue Scaffolds; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: Bioengineering; Dental pulp; Differentiation; Regenerative medicine; Stem cells