Isolation and Characterization of Progenitor/Stem Cells from Alveolar Bone Curettage

A vast number of studies are based on stem cells properties. The ability of self-renew and high plasticity make these cells capable of producing mature cells of different lineages which participate in homeostasis and tissue repair. Several authors proved that the dental tissues have cells with characteristics similar to adult mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs). However, the alveolar bone contains a poorly studied dental/MSC population. This tissue is easily accessed when the tooth is extracted as the curettage of the socket is a non-invasive and relatively common procedure, but the tissue scraped is usually discarded. Objectives: The aim of this study was to isolate and characterize different populations of cells obtained after human alveolar bone curettage and observe if they behave as MSCs, Methods: CD146 and STRO-1 positive cells were sorted by MACS technique from primary cell cultures derived from alveolar bone curettages. From each different cell population, we studied: growth curve, migration, colony forming units, FACS and immunofluorescence characterization and differentiation potential in vitro and in vivo, Results: Both positive (STRO1+ and CD146+) populations were more proliferative and clonogenic compared to their respective negative populations. They expressed many mesenchymal stem cell markers such as CD90, AML, Sox-2, NG-2, and PDGF-β and they differentiated in vitro into osteogenic, chondrogenic and adipogenic tissues. In vivo mineralized areas were observed, Conclusions: According to our results, it is possible to isolate progenitor/stem cells from such an easy and non-invasive procedure such as the alveolar bone curettage.