Department of Stomatology, Daping Hospital & Research Institute of Surgery, Third Military Medical University, Chongqing 400042, China.
Biochem Biophys Res Commun. 2012 Oct 12;427(1):5-10. doi: 10.1016/j.bbrc.2012.08.109. Epub 2012 Sep 12.
Several populations of stem cells, including those from the dental pulp and periodontal ligament, have been isolated from different parts of the tooth and periodontium. The characteristics of such stem cells have been reported as well. However, as a common progenitor of these cells, ectomesenchymal stem cells (EMSCs), derived from the cranial neural crest have yet to be fully characterized. The aim of this study was to better understand the characteristics of EMSCs isolated from rat embryonic facial processes. Immunohistochemical staining showed that EMSCs had migrated to rat facial processes at E11.5, while the absence of epithelial invagination or tooth-like epithelium suggested that any epithelial-mesenchymal interactions were limited at this stage. The p75 neurotrophin receptor (p75NTR), a typical neural crest marker, was used to select p75NTR-positive EMSCs (p75(+) EMSCs), which were found to show a homogeneous fibroblast-like morphology and little change in the growth curve, proliferation capacity, and cell phenotype during cell passage. They also displayed the capacity to differentiate into diverse cell types under chemically defined conditions in vitro. p75(+) EMSCs proved to be homogeneous, stable in vitro and potentially capable of multiple lineages, suggesting their potential for application in dental or orofacial tissue engineering.
已经从牙齿和牙周组织的不同部位分离出几种干细胞群体，包括牙髓和牙周韧带中的干细胞。这些干细胞的特性也已经有报道。然而，作为这些细胞的共同前体细胞，来自颅神经嵴的外胚间充质干细胞（EMSCs）尚未得到充分表征。本研究旨在更好地了解从大鼠胚胎面部突中分离出的 EMSC 的特性。免疫组织化学染色显示，EMSCs 已在 E11.5 时迁移到大鼠面部突中，而上皮内陷或牙样上皮的缺失表明在这个阶段上皮-间充质相互作用有限。神经生长因子受体 p75（p75NTR）是一种典型的神经嵴标志物，用于选择 p75NTR 阳性的 EMSC（p75(+)EMSCs），它们表现出均匀的成纤维细胞样形态，在细胞传代过程中生长曲线、增殖能力和细胞表型变化不大。它们还能够在体外化学定义条件下分化为多种细胞类型。p75(+)EMSCs 表现出均匀性、体外稳定性和潜在的多能性，这表明它们在口腔或颌面组织工程中的应用潜力。
