TY - JOUR
T1 - Induction of Salivary Gland-Like Cells from Dental Follicle Epithelial Cells
AU - Xu, Q. L.
AU - Furuhashi, A.
AU - Zhang, Q. Z.
AU - Jiang, C. M.
AU - Chang, T. H.
AU - Le, A. D.
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© International & American Associations for Dental Research 2017.
PY - 2017/8/1
Y1 - 2017/8/1
N2 - The dental follicle (DF), most often associated with unerupted teeth, is a condensation of ectomesenchymal cells that surrounds the tooth germ in early stages of tooth development. In the present study, we aim to isolate epithelial stem-like cells from the human DF and explore their potential differentiation into salivary gland (SG) cells. We demonstrated the expression of stem cell-related genes in the epithelial components of human DF tissues, and these epithelial progenitor cells could be isolated and ex vivo expanded in a reproducible manner. The human DF-derived epithelial cells possessed clonogenic and sphere-forming capabilities, as well as expressed a panel of epithelial stem cell-related genes, thus conferring stem cell properties (hDF-EpiSCs). When cultured under in vitro 3-dimensional induction conditions, hDF-EpiSCs were capable to differentiate into SG acinar and duct cells. Furthermore, transplantation of hDF-EpiSC-loaded native de-cellularized rat parotid gland scaffolds into the renal capsule of nude mice led to the differentiation of transplanted hDF-EpiSCs into salivary gland-like cells. These findings suggest that hDF-EpiSCs might be a promising source of epithelial stem cells for the development of stem cell-based therapy or bioengineering SG tissues to repair/regenerate SG dysfunction.
AB - The dental follicle (DF), most often associated with unerupted teeth, is a condensation of ectomesenchymal cells that surrounds the tooth germ in early stages of tooth development. In the present study, we aim to isolate epithelial stem-like cells from the human DF and explore their potential differentiation into salivary gland (SG) cells. We demonstrated the expression of stem cell-related genes in the epithelial components of human DF tissues, and these epithelial progenitor cells could be isolated and ex vivo expanded in a reproducible manner. The human DF-derived epithelial cells possessed clonogenic and sphere-forming capabilities, as well as expressed a panel of epithelial stem cell-related genes, thus conferring stem cell properties (hDF-EpiSCs). When cultured under in vitro 3-dimensional induction conditions, hDF-EpiSCs were capable to differentiate into SG acinar and duct cells. Furthermore, transplantation of hDF-EpiSC-loaded native de-cellularized rat parotid gland scaffolds into the renal capsule of nude mice led to the differentiation of transplanted hDF-EpiSCs into salivary gland-like cells. These findings suggest that hDF-EpiSCs might be a promising source of epithelial stem cells for the development of stem cell-based therapy or bioengineering SG tissues to repair/regenerate SG dysfunction.
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85025600007&partnerID=8YFLogxK
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/citedby.url?scp=85025600007&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1177/0022034517711146
DO - 10.1177/0022034517711146
M3 - Article
C2 - 28541773
AN - SCOPUS:85025600007
SN - 0022-0345
VL - 96
SP - 1035
EP - 1043
JO - Journal of Dental Research
JF - Journal of Dental Research
IS - 9
ER -