In Vitro Osteogenic Differentiation of Cultured Human Dental Papilla-Derived Cells

Purpose: This study examined the osteogenic phenotypes and mineralization of cultured human dental papilla-derived cells. Materials and Methods: Dental papillae were harvested from mandibles during surgical extraction of lower impacted third molars from 3 patients aged 13 to 15 years, The dental papilla-derived cells were introduced into the cell culture. After passage 3, the dental papilla-derived cells were further cultured for 42 days in an osteogenic inductive culture medium containing dexamethasone, ascorbic acid, and beta-glycerophosphate. We examined the histochemical detection of alkaline phosphatase (ALP), the reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) analysis for ALP and osteocalcin, and von Kossa staining in the dental papilla-derived cells. Results: It was observed that ALP was strongly expressed in the earlier stage of osteoblastic differentiation, whereas osteocalcin was mainly expressed and secreted into the medium at the later stage. Von Kossa-positive mineralization nodules were first observed on day 14, which increased in number during the entire culture period. Conclusions: These results suggest that dental papilla-derived cell have osteogenic potential and could be used as an additional source of cells for bone tissue engineering, (C) 2009 American Association of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons