[Isolating, culturing and characterizing stem cells of human dental pulp origin]

Evidence has been accumulating for the presence of stem cells in dental tissues. The authors' studies aimed to produce primary culture from human dental pulp. Furthermore, they wanted to identify clonogenic cells with progenitor properties in these cultures, and to characterize their proliferative capacity. The dental pulp was isolated from surgically removed wisdom teeth. The extracellular matrix was enzymatically degraded to obtain isolated cells for culturing. Identification of STRO-1 mesenchymal stem cell marker was achieved by immunocytochemistry. Osteogenic differentiation was detected by the application of Alizarin Red. The proliferative activity of the cell cultures in response to serum, EGF and BMP2 was estimated by MTT assay. The authors' most important finding is the successful establishment of stable primary cell culture from human dental pulp tissue. The cultures can be passaged multiple times and they contain clonogenic, STRO-1 immunopositive cells. Their mineralization capacity was shown by mineralized deposits as a result of induction by suitable medium. The presence of serum increased, while both EGF and BMP2 concentration-dependently decreased the cell proliferation in the cultures. The authors' model provides the foundation for studies of the proliferation and differentiation of dental pulp cells at molecular level, and opens a new direction towards the biological regeneration of dental tissues.