Biocompatibility of Naphthalene Lysine Conjugated Peptides With Stro-1 Positive DPSCs

Objectives: The aim of this work was to compare the in vitro biocompatibility of two lysine conjugated peptide variants NapFFKK and NapFFK’K’ with Stro-1 +ve human dental pulp stem cells (DPSCs).
Methods: Dental pulp cells were obtained from human teeth and magnetic activated cell sorting was used to isolate DPSCs expressing the cell surface antigen Stro-1. Stro-1 +ve cells were incubated with the NapFFKK and NapFFK’K’ peptides for 24 hours or 72 hours and potential cytotoxicity was tested using the MTT (3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide) cell proliferation assay.
Results: Our results show that neither peptide reduced Stro-1 +ve cell viability after 24 hours. In fact the NapFFK’K’ variant showed some cell proliferation effects after 24 hours incubation with Stro-1 +ve cells. After 72 hours the NapFFKK peptide significantly reduced the cell viability of the Stro-1 +ve cells whereas the NapFFK’K’ variant retained cell viability.
Conclusions: Self-assembling NapFFK’K’ peptide hydrogels may have potential for use as platforms for 3D culture of DPSCs for regenerative endodontics because of their inherent antimicrobial activity and their biocompatibility with Stro-1 +ve DPSCs.