The impact of acemannan, an extracted product from , on proliferation of dental pulp stem cells and healing of mandibular defects in rabbits.

OBJECTIVES

Dental pulp stem cells (DPSCs) were shown to play an important role in regenerative medicine including reconstruction of various bone lesions. This study determined the impact of acemannan, an extracted product from , on proliferation of DPSCs and healing of mandibular defects in rabbits.

METHODS

DPSCs were isolated and characterized. The growth kinetics of cells exposed to acemannan (8 mg/mL) and Hank's balanced salt solution (HBSS) were compared . Fifteen male rabbits were divided into 3 groups. Five animals were left as control group without any therapeutic intervention. Five rabbits were considered as experimental group 1 and received 20 µL of a cell suspension containing 10 DPSCs in the bone defect. Another 5 rabbits were regarded as experimental group 2 and were injected in the bone defect with 20 µL of a cell suspension containing 10 DPSCs treated with acemannan for 24 h. After 60 days, the animals were assessed by radiography and histologically.

RESULTS

The mesenchymal properties of DPSCs were confirmed. Population doubling time (PDT) of DPSCs treated with acemannan (29.8 h) was significantly shorter than cells were just exposed to HBSS (45.9 h). DPSCs together with acemannan could significantly accelerate the healing process and osteogenesis in mandibular defects.

CONCLUSIONS

As DPSCS showed an increased proliferation when treated with acemannan and accelerated the healing process in mandibular defects, these findings can open a new avenue in dentistry regenerative medicine when remedies of bone defects are targeted.