Evaluation of bone regeneration potential of dental follicle stem cells for treatment of craniofacial defects.
OBJECTIVE
Stem cell-based tissue regeneration offers potential for treatment of craniofacial bone defects. The dental follicle, a loose connective tissue surrounding the unerupted tooth, has been shown to contain progenitor/stem cells. Dental follicle stem cells (DFSCs) have strong osteogenesis capability, which makes them suitable for repairing skeletal defects. The objective of this study was to evaluate bone regeneration capability of DFSCs loaded into polycaprolactone (PCL) scaffold for treatment of craniofacial defects.


METHODS
DFSCs were isolated from the first mandibular molars of postnatal Sprague-Dawley rats and seeded into the PCL scaffold. Cell attachment and cell viability on the scaffold were examined with the use of scanning electron microscopy and alamar blue reduction assay. For in vivo transplantation, critical-size defects were created on the skulls of 5-month-old immunocompetent rats, and the cell-scaffold constructs were transplanted into the defects.


RESULTS
Skulls were collected at 4 and 8 weeks after transplantation, and bone regeneration in the defects was evaluated with the use of micro-computed tomography and histological analysis. Scanning electron microscopy and Alamar blue assay demonstrated attachment and proliferation of DFSCs in the PCL scaffold. Bone regeneration was observed in the defects treated with DFSC transplantation but not in the controls without DFSC transplant. Transplanting DFSC-PCL with or without osteogenic induction before transplantation achieved approximately 50% bone regeneration at 8 weeks. Formation of woven bone was observed in the DFSC-PCL treatment group. Similar results were seen when osteogenic-induced DFSC-PCL was transplanted to the critical-size defects.


CONCLUSIONS
This study demonstrated that transplantation of DFSCs seeded into PCL scaffolds can be used to repair craniofacial defects.
Department of Comparative Biomedical Sciences, School of Veterinary Medicine, Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge, Louisiana, USA.
Maryam
M
Rezai-Rad
Division of Laboratory Animal Medicine, School of Veterinary Medicine, Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge, Louisiana, USA.
Jonathan F
JF
Bova
Department of Biomedical Engineering, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, Ohio, USA.
Mahdi
M
Orooji
Division of Laboratory Animal Medicine, School of Veterinary Medicine, Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge, Louisiana, USA.
Jennifer
J
Pepping
Department of Biological and Agricultural Engineering, Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge, Louisiana, USA.
Ammar
A
Qureshi
Department of Pathobiological Sciences, School of Veterinary Medicine, Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge, Louisiana, USA.
Fabio
F
Del Piero
Department of Biological and Agricultural Engineering, Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge, Louisiana, USA.
Daniel
D
Hayes
Department of Comparative Biomedical Sciences, School of Veterinary Medicine, Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge, Louisiana, USA. Electronic address: shaomia@lsu.edu.
Shaomian
S
Yao
D000818:Animals; D001861:Bone Regeneration; D018929:Cell Culture Techniques / Q000379:methods; D002454:Cell Differentiation; D002470:Cell Survival; D019465:Craniofacial Abnormalities / Q000628:therapy; D003795:Dental Sac / Q000166:cytology*; D005260:Female; D008297:Male; D008855:Microscopy, Electron, Scanning; D008963:Molar; D010012:Osteogenesis; D011091:Polyesters; D017207:Rats, Sprague-Dawley; D012886:Skull / Q000293:injuries; D033581:Stem Cell Transplantation / Q000379:methods*; D013234:Stem Cells / Q000502:physiology*; D055114:X-Ray Microtomography
D011091:Polyesters; C016240:polycaprolactone
bone regeneration; craniofacial defects; dental follicle stem cells; stem cell transplantation