Abstract
Purpose: :
Expression profile study of adult dental pulp stem cells (ADPSC) and their implication into differentiation in corneal epithelium in vitro when compared between human limbal and dental pulp from deciduous teeth.
Methods: :
ADPSC were cultivated according to Monteiro et al. (2009). The expression profile of ADPSC was studied using markers for limbal stem cells (LSC) and corneal epithelium such as ABCG2, conexin 43, vimentin, p63, keratin-3/12. The expression was analyzed by immunocitochemistry and RT-PCR. Moreover, the ADPSC was induced by specific cultures media into corneal epithelium cells in vitro. Control cultures were cultivated with medium described by Monteiro et al. (2009). The differentiation was submitted to immunocitochemistry analysis, with the same aforementioned markers.
Results: :
RT-PCR results showed that ADPSC present similarities between LSC markers and dental pulp from deciduous teeth, which was demonstrated by immunocitochemistry. The differentiation of ADPSC into corneal epithelium was confirmed by immunocitochemistry analysis which reacted positively with K3/12. In control group, we could not observe positive reaction.
Conclusions: :
We concluded that ADPSC present gene expression profile similar to those observed in LSC and dental pulp from deciduous teeth. Moreover, ADPSC showed able to differentiate into corneal epithelium cells. These similarities suggest these cells are a strong candidate to be used in corneal epithelium reconstruction in cases of limbal stem cells deficiency.
Keywords: cornea: basic science • differentiation