Roato Ilaria, Orrico Clarissa, Meinardi Sara, Pedraza Riccardo, Mosca Balma Alessandro, Baima Giacomo, Genova Tullio, Aimetti Mario, Mussano Federico
Bone and Dental Bioengineering Laboratory, CIR Dental School, Department of Surgical Sciences, University of Turin, 10126 Turin, Italy.
Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, Politecnico di Torino, Corso Duca degli Abruzzi 24, 10129 Turin, Italy.
Cells. 2025 Jun 8;14(12):864. doi: 10.3390/cells14120864.
The role of periodontal ligament stem cells (PDLSCs) and dental pulp stem cells (DPSCs) in stimulating angiogenesis has been reported, but their angiogenetic potential has not been directly compared. In this work, paired PDLSCs and DPSCs, i.e., derived from the same donor, were tested for their immunophenotype and multi-differentiation capabilities, with particular emphasis on their pro-angiogenic activity. Flow cytometry was utilized to study the expression of mesenchymal stem cell, pericyte, and endothelial markers, while gene expression was evaluated through real-time PCR. The angiogenic potential was assessed recurring to tubulogenesis assay, co-cultures with Human Microvascular Endothelial Cell (HMEC-1), and VEGF-A quantification. The immunophenotype of DPSCs and PDLSCs was different in CD146+ and CD31+ cell subsets, but both cell types promoted HMEC-1 tubulogenesis in vitro. Consistently, VEGF-A gene expression level and its quantification in cell-conditioned media of PDLSCs and DPSCs was comparable between them, and both promoted the formation of vessel-like structures, when co-cultured with HMEC-1 cells. All together, these results showed the heterogeneity of PDLSCs and DPSCs, which are constituted of different cellular subsets, likely modulated by the microenvironmental cues. PDLSCs and DPSCs showed comparable pro-angiogenic activity, enhanced by the contemporary expression of angiogenic and chemotactic factors.
牙周膜干细胞（PDLSCs）和牙髓干细胞（DPSCs）在刺激血管生成中的作用已有报道，但它们的血管生成潜力尚未得到直接比较。在这项研究中，对配对的PDLSCs和DPSCs（即来自同一供体）进行了免疫表型和多向分化能力测试，特别强调了它们的促血管生成活性。利用流式细胞术研究间充质干细胞、周细胞和内皮细胞标志物的表达，同时通过实时PCR评估基因表达。通过管腔形成试验、与人微血管内皮细胞（HMEC-1）共培养以及VEGF-A定量来评估血管生成潜力。DPSCs和PDLSCs的免疫表型在CD146+和CD31+细胞亚群中有所不同，但两种细胞类型均能在体外促进HMEC-1管腔形成。同样，PDLSCs和DPSCs的细胞条件培养基中VEGF-A基因表达水平及其定量在两者之间具有可比性，并且当与HMEC-1细胞共培养时，两者均促进血管样结构的形成。总之，这些结果表明PDLSCs和DPSCs具有异质性，它们由不同的细胞亚群组成，可能受微环境信号调节。PDLSCs和DPSCs表现出相当的促血管生成活性，血管生成和趋化因子的同时表达可增强这种活性。
