Dental Follicle: a Source of Stem Cells

Objectives: Dental follicle is a remnant from the early stages of development of the tooth and represents loose connective tissue lined with double epithelium found in retained teeth. Dental follicle mesenchymal stem cells (DFMSCs) can be isolated and cultivated in appropriate conditions. The aim of this study is to isolate DFMSCs and to reveal their ability to express mesenchymal and epithelial markers and to differentiate into various cell types.
Methods: DFMSCs were isolated and seeded at standard cell culture conditions. We aimed to reveal the presence of epithelial cells in the dental follicle after incubation in keratinocytes cell culture media. Cell morphology and expression of stem cell specific and tissue specific markers were determined via fluorescent microscopy. Osteogenic, adipogenic, chondrogenic and epithelial differentiation capacity of the isolated cells was stimulated. For this purpose specific cell culture media were applied. Stem cell differentiation ability was detected via immunofluorescence, Alizarin red, Oil red and Alcian blue staining.
Results: We managed to isolate both mesenchymal and epithelial cells from dental follicle. Microscopically epithelial cells presented with round shape and larger size and were tightly clustered compared to mesenchymal stem cells in the same cell culture flask. Our cells reveal positive expression for epithelial markers.
DFMSCs were expressing stem cell markers and were capable in appropriate conditions to differentiate into various cell types, including osteoblasts, chondroblasts, adipocytes and epithelial cells.
Conclusions: There is a pool of mesenchymal stem cells in the dental follicle capable of multilineage differentiation – mesodermal and epithelial. Together with this cell type, epithelial cells with specific phenotype were isolated from dental follicle.