Abstract
The aim of this study was to track dental pulp stem cells (DPSCs) labeled with dextran-coated superparamagnetic iron oxide nanoparticles (SPIONs) using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). Dental pulp was isolated from male Sprague Dawley rats and cultured in Dulbecco’s modified Eagle’s medium F12 (DMEM-F12) and 10% fetal bovine serum. Effects of SPIONs on morphology, viability, apoptosis, stemness, and osteogenic and adipogenic differentiation of DPSCs were assessed. Prussian blue staining and MRI were conducted to determine in vitro efficiency of SPIONs uptake by the cells. Both non-labeled and labeled DPSCs were adherent to culture plates and showed spindle-shape morphologies, respectively. They were positive for osteogenic and adipogenic induction and expression of cluster of differentiation (CD) 73 and CD90 biomarkers, but negative for expression of CD34 and CD45 biomarkers. The SPIONs were non-toxic and did not induce apoptosis in doses less than 25 mg/mL. Internalization of the SPIONs within the DPSCs was confirmed by Prussian blue staining and MRI. Our findings revealed that the MRI-based method could successfully monitor DPSCs labeled with dextran-coated SPIONs without any significant effect on osteogenic and adipogenic differentiation, viability, and stemness of DPSCs. We provided the in vitro evidence supporting the feasibility of an MRI-based method to monitor DPSCs labeled with SPIONs without any significant reduction in viability, proliferation, and differentiation properties of labeled cells, showing that internalization of SPIONs within DPSCs were not toxic at doses less than 25 mg/mL. In general, the SPION labeling does not seem to impair cell survival or differentiation. SPIONs are biocompatible, easily available, and cost effective, opening a new avenue in stem cell labeling in regenerative medicine.
Highlights
Organ shortage has resulted in emergence of regenerative and personalized medicine with the aim of tissue replacement or enhancement in tissue function [1,2]
This study aims to use dental pulp stem cells (DPSCs) labeled with superparamagnetic iron oxide nanoparticles (SPIONs) and coated with dextran to be traced by magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), while the effect of SPIONs on viability, stemness, and differentiation of DPSCs was detailed
We aim to do further studies to reveal the effect of MRI intensity and SPIONs physical characteristics on DPSC detection in vivo, to be a platform for further in vivo studies using stem cells labelled with SPIONs
Summary
Organ shortage has resulted in emergence of regenerative and personalized medicine with the aim of tissue replacement or enhancement in tissue function [1,2]. MSCs have self-renewal, differentiation, migratory, anti-inflammatory, and immunosuppressive characteristics, which are required for cell-based therapies [3]. They can be isolated from various tissues, such as bone marrow [4], adipose [5], endometrium [6], umbilical cord blood [7], and dental pulp [8]. Among MSCs, dental pulp stem cells (DPSCs) resident within the perivascular niche of the dental pulp have high plasticity and multipotential characteristics They can be isolated from tooth extractions in dental clinics non-invasively and have a heterogeneous cell population making them a suitable candidate for cell-based therapies and regenerative medicine [8]. The safety and feasibility of DPSCs were previously clarified by several authors [9], and they were shown to have a great potential for anti-inflammatory and regenerative applications [10]
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