Stem cells from human exfoliated deciduous teeth share similar functional properties with pericytes

Abstract

Objectives: As a crucial component of blood vessel structures, pericytes play a key role in the development and maturation of vasculature, which make them becoming a promising candidate in tissue engineering. Nevertheless, limited proliferative capacity and slow ex vivo expansion rate of primary pericytes may hinder the clinical translation and experimental study. Dental pulp stem cells can be readily harvested from exfoliated deciduous or wisdom teeth, without imposing any additional discomfort or injury on patient donors. The purpose of this study is to investigate whether there could be some similarities between stem cells from human exfoliated deciduous teeth (SHED) and pericytes. Methods: We compared functional properties between stem cells from human exfoliated deciduous teeth (SHED) and pericytes. The characterizations included morphology, gene-expression profile, differentiation potential, as well as angiogenesis ability. Results: SHED share a very similar morphology with pericytes; and some typical pericytes phenotypes, like PDGFR-β, NG2 are also expressed in SHED. Analysis of function revealed similarities among SHD and pericytes. Both types of cells could be differentiated into adipocytes and osteoblasts under defined conditions. In vivo study verified both SHED and pericytes possessing perivascular cell characteristics in angiogenesis. Conclusions: Our results indicate that SHED and pericytes share similar functional properties, which hint us SHED could be an alternative cell source in tissue engineering related pericytes.