Abstract
We provide a detailed characteristic of stem cells isolated and expanded from the human dental pulp. Dental pulp stem cells express mesenchymal cell markers STRO-1, vimentin, CD29, CD44, CD73, CD90, CD166, and stem cell markers Sox2, nestin, and nucleostemin. They are multipotent as shown by their osteogenic and chondrogenic potential. We measured relative telomere length in 11 dental pulp stem cell lines at different passages by quantitative real-time PCR. Despite their large proliferative capacity, stable viability, phenotype, and genotype over prolonged cultivation, human dental pulp stem cells suffer from progressive telomere shortening over time they replicate in vitro. Relative telomere length (T/S) was inversely correlated with cumulative doubling time. Our findings indicate that excessive ex vivo expansion of adult stem cells should be reduced at minimum to avoid detrimental effects on telomere maintenance and measurement of telomere length should become a standard when certificating the status and replicative age of stem cells prior therapeutic applications.
Highlights
Within adult multicellular organisms populations of stem cells are responsible for tissue maintenance and regeneration
For CFU-F assays, culture medium was aspirated after 5 days of cultivation, the dish was washed with phosphate-buffer saline (PBS) and adhering cells were fixed with 3.7% formaldehyde in PBS
From the dental pulp isolated from the single tooth we established one dental pulp stem cells (DPSCs) line
Summary
Within adult multicellular organisms populations of stem cells are responsible for tissue maintenance and regeneration Since these primitive cells are endowed with unique biological properties like unlimited self-renewal, extensive proliferative capacity, and broad differentiation potential, they represent a promising tool for cell replacement strategies in treatment of degenerating and ageing tissues. Few studies gave evidence that this tissue contains a special population of adult stem cells [7,8,9] These studies characterized dental pulp stem cells (DPSCs) cultured under different in vitro conditions and reported some similarity to bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells, for example, in expression of mesenchymal markers as well as differences in some biological properties such as distinct growth kinetics and capacity to restore dental structures
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