Differences in the stemness characteristics and molecular markers of distinct human oral tissue neural crest‐derived multilineage cells

Abstract

BackgroundAlthough multilineage cells derived from oral tissue, especially the dental pulp, apical papilla, periodontal ligament, and oral mucosa, have neural crest-derived stem cell (NCSC)-like properties, the differences in the characteristics of these progenitor cell compartments remain unknown. The primary aim of the current study was to elucidate these differences. MethodsMultilineage sphere-forming apical papilla-derived cells (APDCs), periodontal ligament-derived cells (PDLDCs), and oral mucosa stroma-derived cells (OMSDCs) from the same individuals were isolated from impacted developing teeth. All sphere-forming cells were characterized by biological analyses of stem cells. Additionally, composites of these cells and multiporous hydroxyapatite scaffolds were transplanted into immunocompromised mice. ResultsAll sphere-forming cells expressed neural crest-related markers. Although APDCs and PDLDCs showed greater mineralized-cell differentiation, they exhibited poorer differentiation into adipocytes in vitro than OMSDCs. In immunocompromised mice, APDCs were better able to form hard tissues than PDLDCs and OMSDCs. Moreover, the expression of certain tissue-speci c markers, such as CD24 and CD56 (NCAM1), differed among the tissue-derived cells. Surprisingly, the expression of only CD24 and CD56 could be discriminated among human tissues. ConclusionsOur results suggest that although cells having NCSC-like properties present the same phenotype, they differ in the expression of certain markers and differentiation abilities. The present study is the rst to demonstrate the differences in differentiation ability and molecular markers among multilineage human APDCs, PDLDCs, and OMSDCs obtained from the same patients and, concomitantly, the same sites and identify these tissuespeci c markers in the human tooth developmental process.