A hydrogel scaffold that maintains viability and supports differentiation of dental pulp stem cells

Abstract

Objectives The clinical translation of stem cell-based Regenerative Endodontics demands further development of suitable injectable scaffolds. Puramatrix™ is a defined, self-assembling peptide hydrogel which instantaneously polymerizes under normal physiological conditions. Here, we assessed the compatibility of Puramatrix™ with dental pulp stem cell (DPSC) growth and differentiation. Methods DPSC cells were grown in 0.05 to 0.25% Puramatrix™. Cell viability was measured colorimetrically using the WST-1 assay. Cell morphology was observed in 3-D modeling using confocal microscopy. In addition, we used the human tooth slice model with Puramatrix™ to verify DPSC differentiation into odontoblast-like cells, as measured by expression of DSPP and DMP-1. Results DPSC survived and proliferated in Puramatrix™ for at least three weeks in culture. Confocal microscopy revealed that cells seeded in Puramatrix™ presented morphological features of healthy cells, and some cells exhibited cytoplasmic elongations. Notably, after 21 days in tooth slices containing Puramatrix™, DPSC cells expressed DMP-1 and DSPP, putative markers of odontoblastic differentiation. Significance Collectively, these data suggest that self-assembling peptide hydrogels might be useful injectable scaffolds for stem cell-based Regenerative Endodontics.

Culture of human dental pulp cells at variable times post-tooth extraction

“…12 Dental pulp stem cells have survived and proliferated in a self-assembling peptide hydrogel that could conceptually be used in regenerative endodontics, allowing stem cell therapy inside the root canal. 13 Declaration of Interests: The authors certify that they have no commercial or associative interest that represents a conflict of interest in connection with the manuscript.…”

The Interplay of Dental Pulp Stem Cells and Endothelial Cells in an Injectable Peptide Hydrogel on Angiogenesis and Pulp Regeneration In Vivo

“…Furthermore, PuraMatrix has been shown to be capable of maintaining the viability and odontogenic differentiation capacity of DPSCs. 16 A recent study found that stem cells from exfoliated deciduous teeth that were encapsulated in PuraMatrix and injected into full-length root canals gave rise to functional odontoblasts and pulp-like tissue after transplantation into immunodeficient mice. 17 This study aimed to elucidate the DPSC-HUVEC interactions during angiogenesis and odonto/osteogenic differentiation in a 3D peptide-hydrogel system.…”

Dental Pulp Tissue Engineering in Full-length Human Root Canals

“…We have recently shown that this hydrogel maintained the viability and supported the odontoblastic differentiation of dental pulp stem cells (DPSC) in vitro (Cavalcanti et al, 2013). Collagen-based scaffolds are also attractive for dental pulp tissue engineering, considering that collagen is a major component of human dental pulps.…”