Dental pulp stem cells express tendon markers under mechanical loading and are a potential cell source for tissue engineering of tendon-like tissue.
Postnatal mesenchymal stem cells have the capacity to differentiate into multiple cell lineages. This study explored the possibility of dental pulp stem cells (DPSCs) for potential application in tendon tissue engineering. The expression of tendon-related markers such as scleraxis, tenascin-C, tenomodulin, eye absent homologue 2, collagens I and VI was detected in dental pulp tissue. Interestingly, under mechanical stimulation, these tendon-related markers were significantly enhanced when DPSCs were seeded in aligned polyglycolic acid (PGA) fibre scaffolds. Furthermore, mature tendon-like tissue was formed after transplantation of DPSC-PGA constructs under mechanical loading conditions in a mouse model. This study demonstrates that DPSCs could be a potential stem cell source for tissue engineering of tendon-like tissue.
Department of Stomatology, Fujian Provincial Hospital, Fuzhou, China.|School and Hospital of Stomatology, Fujian Medical University, Fuzhou, China.
Yu-Ying
YY
Chen
Department of Stomatology, Hainan Province Nongken Sanya Hospital, Sanya, China.
Sheng-Teng
ST
He
Nanjing Stomatological Hospital, Medical School of Nanjing University, Nanjing, China.|Australia-China Centre for Tissue Engineering and Regenerative Medicine, Queensland University of Technology, Brisbane, Australia.
Fu-Hua
FH
Yan
School and Hospital of Stomatology, Fujian Medical University, Fuzhou, China.
Peng-Fei
PF
Zhou
School and Hospital of Stomatology, Fujian Medical University, Fuzhou, China.
Kai
K
Luo
College of Life Science, Fujian Normal University, Fuzhou, China.
Yan-Ding
YD
Zhang
Australia-China Centre for Tissue Engineering and Regenerative Medicine, Queensland University of Technology, Brisbane, Australia.|Institute of Health and Biomedical Innovation, Queensland University of Technology, Brisbane, Australia.
Yin
Y
Xiao
School and Hospital of Stomatology, Fujian Medical University, Fuzhou, China.
Min-Kui
MK
Lin
D000818:Animals; D002454:Cell Differentiation; D002478:Cells, Cultured; D003782:Dental Pulp; D059630:Mesenchymal Stem Cells; D051379:Mice; D013234:Stem Cells; D013710:Tendons; D023822:Tissue Engineering; D054457:Tissue Scaffolds