A hyaluronan-based scaffold for the in vitro construction of dental pulp-like tissue.
Dental pulp tissue supports the vitality of the tooth, but it is particularly vulnerable to external insults, such as mechanical trauma, chemical irritation or microbial invasion, which can lead to tissue necrosis. In the present work, we present an endodontic regeneration method based on the use of a tridimensional (3D) hyaluronan scaffold and human dental pulp stem cells (DPSCs) to produce a functional dental pulp-like tissue in vitro. An enriched population of DPSCs was seeded onto hyaluronan-based non-woven meshes in the presence of differentiation factors to induce the commitment of stem cells to neuronal, glial, endothelial and osteogenic phenotypes. In vitro experiments, among which were gene expression profiling and immunofluorescence (IF) staining, proved the commitment of DPSCs to the main components of dental pulp tissue. In particular, the hyaluronan-DPSCs construct showed a dental pulp-like morphology consisting of several specialized cells growing inside the hyaluronan fibers. Furthermore, these constructs were implanted into rat calvarial critical-size defects. Histological analyses and gene expression profiling performed on hyaluronan-DPSCs grafts showed the regeneration of osteodentin-like tissue. Altogether, these data suggest the regenerative potential of the hyaluronan-DPSC engineered tissue.
Department of Biomedical Sciences, University of Padova, Viale Giuseppe Colombo, 3, 35131 Padova, Italy. letizia.ferroni@unipd.it.
Letizia
L
Ferroni
Department of Biomedical Sciences, University of Padova, Viale Giuseppe Colombo, 3, 35131 Padova, Italy. chiara.gardin@unipd.it.
Chiara
C
Gardin
Department of Neurosciences, University of Padova, Via Giustiniani, 2, 35131 Padova, Italy. stefano.sivolella@unipd.it.
Stefano
S
Sivolella
Department of Neurosciences, University of Padova, Via Giustiniani, 2, 35131 Padova, Italy. giulia-bru@libero.it.
Giulia
G
Brunello
Department of Neurosciences, University of Padova, Via Giustiniani, 2, 35131 Padova, Italy. mario.berengo@unipd.it.
Mario
M
Berengo
Department of Stomatology and Biotechnologies, University of Chieti-Pescara, Via dei Vestini, 31, 66100 Chieti, Italy. a.piattelli@unich.it.
Adriano
A
Piattelli
Department of Neurosciences, University of Padova, Via Giustiniani, 2, 35131 Padova, Italy. eriberto.bressan@unipd.it.
Eriberto
E
Bressan
Department of Biomedical Sciences, University of Padova, Viale Giuseppe Colombo, 3, 35131 Padova, Italy. barbara.zavan@unipd.it.
Barbara
B
Zavan
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000818:Animals; D002454:Cell Differentiation / Q000235:genetics; D002478:Cells, Cultured; D003782:Dental Pulp / Q000166:cytology / Q000378:metabolism*; D005260:Female; D005455:Fluorescent Antibody Technique; D020869:Gene Expression Profiling; D006801:Humans; D006820:Hyaluronic Acid / Q000378:metabolism*; D011923:Rats, Nude; D017208:Rats, Wistar; D020133:Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction; D013234:Stem Cells / Q000166:cytology / Q000378:metabolism*; D023822:Tissue Engineering / Q000379:methods*; D054457:Tissue Scaffolds; D016378:Tissue Transplantation / Q000379:methods; D014183:Transplantation, Heterologous; D055815:Young Adult
D006820:Hyaluronic Acid