Inherent differentiation potential of stem cells from human dental origin

Introduction: The success of cell replacement therapy depends on the ability of stem cells to stimulate endogenous pool of organ resident stem cells and generating adequate number of cells for therapy. Therefore, understanding the gene expression profile which indicating their lineage specific proclivity is fundamental to the development of successful cell-based therapies. Objectives: In this investigation, we compared the characteristic of stem cells isolated from deciduous (SCD) and permanent teeth (DPSCs) to elucidate their inherent proliferation and differentiation potential. Materials and methods: We compared proliferation rate, gene expression profile and lineage specific propensity of stem cells derived from SCD and DPSCs over five passages. Results: The proliferation rate of SCD was higher (cell number (cells/ml) 25 x 106; percent CFUs: 151.67 ± 10.5; percent cells in S/G2 phase: 12.4 ± 1.48; p<0.05) than DPSCs (cell number (cells/ml) 21 x 106; percent CFUs: 133 ± 17.62; percent cells in S/G2 phase: 10.4 ± 1.18. It was observed that fold expression of several pluripotent markers such as OCT4, SOX2, NANOG and REX1 were higher (> 2) in SCD as compared to DPSCs (p<0.05). However, DPSCs showed higher expression of neuro-ectodermal markers PAX6, GBX2, NESTIN (fold expression >100). Similarly, higher neurospheres formation and neuronal marker expression (NF, GFAP) were found in the differentiated DPSCs into neuron like cells as compared to SCD. Conclusion: This study thus demonstrates that both SCD and DPSCs exhibit specific gene expression profile with clear-cut inclination of DPSCs towards neuronal lineage.