Modulation of Dental Pulp Stem Cell Odontogenesis in a Tunable PEG-Fibrinogen Hydrogel System

Injectable hydrogels have the great potential for clinical translation of dental pulp regeneration. A recently developed PEG-fibrinogen (PF) hydrogel, which comprises a bioactive fibrinogen backbone conjugated to polyethylene glycol (PEG) side chains, can be cross-linked after injection by photopolymerization. The objective of this study was to investigate the use of this hydrogel, which allows tuning of its mechanical properties, as a scaffold for dental pulp tissue engineering. The cross-linking degree of PF hydrogels could be controlled by varying the amounts of PEG-diacrylate (PEG-DA) cross-linker. PF hydrogels are generally cytocompatible with the encapsulated dental pulp stem cells (DPSCs), yielding >85% cell viability in all hydrogels. It was found that the cell morphology of encapsulated DPSCs, odontogenic gene expression, and mineralization were strongly modulated by the hydrogel cross-linking degree and matrix stiffness. Notably, DPSCs cultured within the highest cross-linked hydrogel remained mostly rounded in aggregates and demonstrated the greatest enhancement in odontogenic gene expression. Consistently, the highest degree of mineralization was observed in the highest cross-linked hydrogel. Collectively, our results indicate that PF hydrogels can be used as a scaffold for DPSCs and offers the possibility of influencing DPSCs in ways that may be beneficial for applications in regenerative endodontics.

Download Full-text

Dental pulp tissue engineering

Brazilian Dental Journal ◽

10.1590/s0103-64402011000100001 ◽

2011 ◽

Vol 22 (1) ◽

pp. 3-13 ◽

Cited By ~ 60

Author(s):

Flávio Fernando Demarco ◽

Marcus Cristian Muniz Conde ◽

Bruno Neves Cavalcanti ◽

Luciano Casagrande ◽

Vivien Thiemy Sakai ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Tissue Engineering ◽

Dental Pulp ◽

Regeneration Capacity ◽

Pulp Tissue ◽

Regenerative Endodontics ◽

Mesenchymal Tissue ◽

Dental Pulp Tissue ◽

Anatomical Arrangement ◽

Exciting Time ◽

The Ideal

Dental pulp is a highly specialized mesenchymal tissue that has a limited regeneration capacity due to anatomical arrangement and post-mitotic nature of odontoblastic cells. Entire pulp amputation followed by pulp space disinfection and filling with an artificial material cause loss of a significant amount of dentin leaving as life-lasting sequelae a non-vital and weakened tooth. However, regenerative endodontics is an emerging field of modern tissue engineering that has demonstrated promising results using stem cells associated with scaffolds and responsive molecules. Thereby, this article reviews the most recent endeavors to regenerate pulp tissue based on tissue engineering principles and provides insightful information to readers about the different aspects involved in tissue engineering. Here, we speculate that the search for the ideal combination of cells, scaffolds, and morphogenic factors for dental pulp tissue engineering may be extended over future years and result in significant advances in other areas of dental and craniofacial research. The findings collected in this literature review show that we are now at a stage in which engineering a complex tissue, such as the dental pulp, is no longer an unachievable goal and the next decade will certainly be an exciting time for dental and craniofacial research.

Download Full-text