Expression of Mineralization Markers in Dental Pulp Cells

• Published in: Journal of endodontics Vol. 33; no. 6; pp. 703 - 708
• Main Authors: Wei, Xi, MS, MDS, Ling, Junqi, PhD, Wu, Liping, MS, Liu, Lu, MD, Xiao, Yin, PhD
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States Elsevier Inc 01.06.2007
• Subjects: Adipogenesis - physiology; Adult; Biomarkers; Cell Differentiation; Cells, Cultured; Chondrogenesis - physiology; Dental Pulp - cytology; Dental pulp cells; dentin sialophosphoprotein; Dentistry; differentiation; Endocrinology & Metabolism; Extracellular Matrix Proteins - biosynthesis; Flow Cytometry; Glycoproteins - biosynthesis; Humans; matrix extracellular phosphoglycoprotein; Mesenchymal Stromal Cells - metabolism; Multipotent Stem Cells - metabolism; odontoblast; Odontoblasts - metabolism; Odontogenesis - physiology; Osteocalcin - biosynthesis; Phosphoproteins - biosynthesis; Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction; Sialoglycoproteins; Tooth Calcification - physiology; dentin sialophosphoprotein; odontoblast; differentiation; Dental pulp cells; matrix extracellular phosphoglycoprotein
• ISSN: 0099-2399; 1878-3554
• DOI: 10.1016/j.joen.2007.02.009

Abstract There is an increasing interest in the utility of dental pulp stem cells (DPSCs) for dentin regeneration. The mechanisms involved in DPSC differentiation remain poorly understood. The purpose of the study was to investigate the mineralization capacity of human dental pulp cells (DPCs) and identify potential markers for odontoblast differentiation. The isolated DPCs expressed mesenchymal stem-cell markers as shown by flow cytometry and could differentiate in vitro into odontogenic, adipogenic, and chondrogenic lineages. Alkaline phosphatase activity of DPCs elevated over time, with significant upregulation on day 21 in odontogenic induction. Quantitative RT-PCR revealed that osteocalcin, dentin sialophosphoprotein (DSPP), and matrix extracellular phosphoglycoprotein (MEPE) expression also increased time dependently in the induction cultures. In conclusion, we isolated DPCs with stem cell characteristics. MEPE and DSPP showed a similar regulatory pattern of DPCs mineralization. MEPE along with DSPP may be potential odontogenetic differentiation markers.