Frontiers in Stem Cell and Regenerative Medicine Research: Volume 6

Atta-ur-Rahman, Shazia Anjum

• Publisher: Bentham Science Publishers
• Year: 2017
• ISBN:
  9781681084770
• Topic: Biological Sciences
• Subtopic: Cell Biology
• Index: Biological Sciences

Stem cell and regenerative medicine research is a hot area of research which promises to change the face of medicine as it will be practiced in the years to come. Challenges in the 21st century to combat diseases such as cancer, Alzheimer and related diseases may well be addressed employing stem cell therapies and tissue regeneration. Frontiers in Stem Cell and Regenerative Medicine Research is essential reading for researchers seeking updates in stem cell therapeutics and regenerative medicine.
The sixth volume of this series features reviews on roles of mesenchymal stem cells in cartilage regeneration and bone regeneration, liver regeneration, cardiogenesis, cardiomyocyte differentiation, and regenerative therapy for neurodegenerative disorders.

The Potential Clinical Application of Mesenchymal Stem Cells from the Dental Pulp (DPSCs) for Bone Regeneration

Ana Rita Caseiro^{1, 2, 3, #}, Rui Alvites^{1, 2, #}, Sílvia Santos Pedrosa^{1, 2, #}, José Miguel Campos^{1, 2, 4}, Inês Leal Reis^{1, 2}, José Domingos Santos³, Carla Mendonça^{1, 2}, Luís Miguel Atayde^{1, 2}, Ana Colette Maurício^{1, 2, *}

¹ Centro de Estudos de Ciência Animal (CECA), Instituto de Ciências, Tecnologias e Agroambiente (ICETA) da Universidade do Porto, Praça Gomes Teixeira, Apartado 55142, 4051-401, Porto, Portugal

² Departamento de Clínicas Veterinárias, Instituto de Ciências Biomédicas de Abel Salazar (ICBAS), Universidade do Porto (UP), Rua de Jorge Viterbo Ferreira, nº 228, 4050-313 Porto, Portugal

³ CEMUC, Departamento de Engenharia Metalúrgica e Materiais, Faculdade de Engenharia, Universidade do Porto, Rua Dr. Roberto Frias s/n, 4200-465 Porto, Portugal

⁴ Escola Universitária Vasco da Gama (EUVG), Hospital Veterinário Universitário de Coimbra (HVUC), Av. José R. Sousa Fernandes, Campus Universitário – Bloco B, Lordemão, 3020-210 Coimbra, Portugal

Abstract

The skeleton has the vital role of providing support and protection to all body organs, as well as to function as storage system for ions and other components essential to its homeostasis, also presenting essential function in the movement and posture of the individual. Bone fractures are a fairly common situation affecting individuals of all ages, but gain importance when concomitant pathologies are present or when the bone lesions’ extension exceeds the tissues’ intrinsic healing capabilities. As such, biomedical research has invested in unveiling adequate therapies to aid in those cases. The tissue engineering field has therefore evolved in the direction of developing biomaterials and scaffolds to structure, support and promote bone ingrowth, and in developing strategies to optimize these biomaterials in vivo performance, by including cell-based therapies and growth factors. Herein, we discuss one promising strategy for the optimization of these hybrid systems, through the association of biomaterials to a specific source of mesenchymal stem cells: the dental pulp stem cells. Dental pulp stem cells can be found in individuals of any age, and can be easily isolated from deciduous and definitive teeth, expanded and cryopreserved for further

use. These cells are capable of differentiating towards multiple lineages, presenting great potential for osteo-differentiation. Dental pulp stem cells have been demonstrated to incorporate diverse biomaterial systems and promote mineral deposition both in vitro and in vivo, aiming at the reconstruction of osseous defects, in either experimental or clinical situations. The mesenchymal stem cells from the dental pulp can also be found and isolated from many species other than humans, granting them potential to be implemented not only in human medicine but also in veterinary care practices, and in regenerative strategies for other organs and tissues, such as dental reconstruction and nervous system regeneration.

Keywords: Adult teeth, Animal models, Biomaterials, Bone regeneration, Cell isolation, Cell sources, Ceramic biomaterials, Deciduous teeth, Dental cells, Dental pulp, Dental regeneration, Differentiation, Growth factors, In vitro, In vivo, Mesenchymal stem cells, Nerve regeneration, Stem cells, Tissue regeneration, Tooth.

---

^* Corresponding author Ana Colette Maurício: Departamento de Clínicas Veterinárias, Instituto de Ciências Biomédicas Abel Salazar (ICBAS), Rua de Jorge Viterbo Ferreira, nº 228, 4050-313 Porto, Portugal; Mobile: [phone]; Tel: [phone]; E-mails: [email protected], [email protected]^# These authors should be considered as first authors.

INTRODUCTION

Nearly 30 years ago, Vacanti [1] described the transplantation of cells using bio-absorbable polymer matrices. That was the beginning of tissue engineering, then described as “an interdisciplinary field that applies principles of engineering and life sciences toward the development of biological substitutes that restore, maintain, or improve tissue function”. The fundamentals of tissue engineering are based on three major pillars: scaffolds, cells and regeneration factors, all deemed essential for the success of stem cells based therapies (Fig. 1) [2^-4].

Stem cells are responsive undifferentiated cells with varying degrees of self-proliferation and differentiation plasticity. These characteristics makes stem cells attractive as tissue regeneration motors [5]. Although the number of stem cells is higher before birth, in the adult there are still several “niches” with a significant number of stem cells [6].

The stem cells “niches” in adults include the skin, adipose tissue, peripheral blood, bone marrow, pancreas, intestine, brain, hair follicles, and others, as well as in the dental pulp [7]. In this review we focus on dental pulp derived stem cell population. Dental stem cells (DPSCs) are one good alternative to other sources’ cells due to their easy collection from healthy donors and high proliferation and differentiation ability [8^-11], with the advantage of being collect from both infants and adults, which are frequently subjected to dental orthodontic treatments that imply the removal of healthy teeth.

Fig. (1))
The three pillars of tissue engineering – the biomaterial scaffolds that provide structure and a protective environment for the tissue regeneration; the cells that motor the regeneration itself; and the regeneration factors that promote and enhance cell growth and differentiation.

DENTAL STEM CELLS

Tooth Anatomy and the DPSCs Niche

Human teeth are an incredibly specialized organ composed of the crown (visible part that protrudes from the gingiva), the neck (the transition area), and the root (anchored to the alveola...

Table of contents

• Welcome
• Table Of Contents
• Title Page
• BENTHAM SCIENCE PUBLISHERS LTD.
• PREFACE
• List of Contributors
• The Emerging Role of Mesenchymal Stem Cell Secretome in Cartilage Regeneration
• The Potential Clinical Application of Mesenchymal Stem Cells from the Dental Pulp (DPSCs) for Bone Regeneration
• Mesenchymal Stem Cells in Regenerative Medicine: The Challenges and the Opportunities
• Liver Regeneration: An update on the Role of Non-Parenchymal Cells
• Cardiogenesis and Repair: Insights from Development and Clinical Trials
• The Role of Ca2+ Signalling in the Differentiation of Embryonic Stem Cells (ESCs) into Cardiomyocytes
• Regenerative Cell-Based Therapies to Combat Neurodegenerative Disorders
• Stem Cell Transplantation: Is this the Future Solution for Parkinson's Disease?