Comparison Of The Properties Of Dental Pulp Stem Cells And Perivascular Cells

objective To compare the related properties of human dental pulp stem cells and pericytes,and to investigate whether DPSCs can be used to replace pericytes for vascular regeneration.Methods The pulp stem cells were cultured by tissue block enzyme digestion,and the surface antigen of the isolated cells was detected by flow cytometry.The multi-differentiation potential of dpscs and pericytes was compared after 4 weeks of osteogenic and neurogenic induction.The tube cavity-like structures of DPSCs+HUVEC group and pericytes+HUVEC group were co-cultured on matrigel by extracorporeal vascularization experiments,and the formation of tube cavity-like structures of3 h,7h,11 h,14h,18 h,24h,30 h,36h and 42 h were observed,to evaluate the ability of DPSCs and pericytes to stabilize vascular-like structure.Transwell assays were performed to evaluate the induced capacities of DPSCs and pericytes on the migration behavior of HUVEC.Results Flow cytometry results showed that the surface markers CD105,CD73,CD90,CD29,CD44 of DPSCs were strongly positive and CD34 and CD45 were negative,consistent with mesenchymal-derived stem cell characteristics.The isolated and cultured pulp stem cells were long fusiform,fibrous,and pericytes were also long fusiform,adherent growth,showing similar morphological characteristics to pulp stem cells.After 4 weeks of osteogenesis induction,after alizarin red staining,two groups of dpscs and pericytes induced alizarin red staining positive,showing a large number of red mineralized nodules.After 4 weeks of nerve induction,under the inverted microscope,the morphology of the two groups of cells changed,showing a long axon,similar to the morphology of neuron-like cells.Both cells were co-cultured with huvec on matrigel matrix glue to establish a stable tube-like structure,which could be maintained for at least 42 h.After transwell incubation for 12 h,a certain number of huvec in the upper chamber of each experimental group entered the lower chamber.statistical results showed that both DPSCs and pericytes had a strong chemotactic effect on huvec under in vitro culture conditions,and there was no statistical difference between the two groups(P >0.05).Conclusions DPSCs have similar morphological and functional characteristics to pericytes and can be used for vascular regeneration.