Abstract
Human dental pulp cells (DPCs), adherent cells derived from dental pulp tissues, are potential tools for cell transplantation therapy. However, little work has been done to optimize such transplantation. In this study, DPCs were treated with fibroblast growth factor-2 (FGF2) for 5–6 consecutive serial passages and were transplanted into the injury site immediately after complete transection of the rat spinal cord. FGF2 priming facilitated the DPCs to promote axonal regeneration and to improve locomotor function in the rat with spinal cord injury (SCI). Additional analyses revealed that FGF2 priming protected cultured DPCs from hydrogen-peroxide–induced cell death and increased the number of DPCs in the SCI rat spinal cord even 7 weeks after transplantation. The production of major neurotrophic factors was equivalent in FGF2-treated and untreated DPCs. These observations suggest that FGF2 priming might protect DPCs from the post-trauma microenvironment in which DPCs infiltrate and resident immune cells generate cytotoxic reactive oxygen species. Surviving DPCs could increase the availability of neurotrophic factors in the lesion site, thereby promoting axonal regeneration and locomotor function recovery.
Highlights
Human dental pulp cells (DPCs), adherent cells derived from dental pulp tissues, are potential tools for cell transplantation therapy
The following previous observations prompted us to investigate the effects of fibroblast growth factor-2 (FGF2) on transplanted DPCs: (1) FGF2 promotes the proliferation of DPCs13; (2) FGF2 administration improves the recovery of locomotor function in rodent spinal cord injury (SCI) models via proliferation of endogenous glial cells and fibronectin-positive cells14,15; (3) angiogenesis plays an important role in the function recovery of SCI, and FGF2 enhances dental-pulp–derived stem cells (DPSCs) transplantation-induced angiogenesis in subcutaneous tissues16
We found that pre-treatment of DPCs with FGF2 significantly increased locomotor function recovery in SCI rats in response to DPC transplantation
Summary
Human dental pulp cells (DPCs), adherent cells derived from dental pulp tissues, are potential tools for cell transplantation therapy. DPCs were treated with fibroblast growth factor-2 (FGF2) for 5–6 consecutive serial passages and were transplanted into the injury site immediately after complete transection of the rat spinal cord. FGF2 priming facilitated the DPCs to promote axonal regeneration and to improve locomotor function in the rat with spinal cord injury (SCI). To determine the effects of FGF2 on DPC transplantation, we injected DPCs pre-treated with FGF2 into the injury site immediately after complete transection of the rat spinal cord. DPC-transplanted rats with and without FGF2 pre-treatment of transplanted cells were compared with respect to DPC survival, axon regeneration, and recovery of motor function
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