A hydrogel scaffold that maintains viability and supports differentiation of dental pulp stem cells

• Published in: Dental materials Vol. 29; no. 1; pp. 97 - 102
• Main Authors: Cavalcanti, Bruno N, Zeitlin, Benjamin D, Nör, Jacques E
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: England Elsevier Ltd 01.01.2013
• Subjects: Advanced Basic Science; Cell Differentiation - physiology; Dental pulp; Dental Pulp - cytology; Dental Pulp - metabolism; Dentistry; Extracellular Matrix Proteins - metabolism; Humans; Hydrogel; Hydrogels - pharmacology; Materials Testing; Microscopy, Confocal; Odontoblast; Odontoblasts - metabolism; Peptides - chemistry; Phosphoproteins - metabolism; Real-Time Polymerase Chain Reaction; Regenerative Endodontics; Sialoglycoproteins - metabolism; Stem Cell Transplantation; Stem cells; Stem Cells - metabolism; Tissue engineering; Tissue Scaffolds - chemistry; Regenerative Endodontics; Hydrogel; Odontoblast; Tissue engineering; Stem cells; Dental pulp
• ISSN: 0109-5641; 1879-0097; 1879-0097
• DOI: 10.1016/j.dental.2012.08.002

Abstract Objectives The clinical translation of stem cell-based Regenerative Endodontics demands further development of suitable injectable scaffolds. Puramatrix™ is a defined, self-assembling peptide hydrogel which instantaneously polymerizes under normal physiological conditions. Here, we assessed the compatibility of Puramatrix™ with dental pulp stem cell (DPSC) growth and differentiation. Methods DPSC cells were grown in 0.05–0.25% Puramatrix™. Cell viability was measured colorimetrically using the WST-1 assay. Cell morphology was observed in 3D modeling using confocal microscopy. In addition, we used the human tooth slice model with Puramatrix™ to verify DPSC differentiation into odontoblast-like cells, as measured by expression of DSPP and DMP-1. Results DPSC survived and proliferated in Puramatrix™ for at least three weeks in culture. Confocal microscopy revealed that cells seeded in Puramatrix™ presented morphological features of healthy cells, and some cells exhibited cytoplasmic elongations. Notably, after 21 days in tooth slices containing Puramatrix™, DPSC cells expressed DMP-1 and DSPP, putative markers of odontoblastic differentiation. Significance Collectively, these data suggest that self-assembling peptide hydrogels might be useful injectable scaffolds for stem cell-based Regenerative Endodontics.