Authors: Khayat et al
Summary:
Objectives: The concept of pulpal regeneration has been used in dental clinics to obtain apical closure of immature permanent teeth with thin dentinal walls. Although sometimes successful, stimulating bleeding from the periapical area of the tooth can be challenging, and in turn may deleteriously affect tooth root maturation. The method described in this study could help the clinician to overcome these challenges. Our objective was to regenerate dentin-pulp complex in tooth root segments (RS) injected with human Dental Pulp Stem Cells (hDPSCs) and Human Umbilical Vein Endothelial Cells (HUVECs) encapsulated in Gelatin Methacrylate (GelMA).
Methods: hDPSCs and HUVECs used from passage 2 and 5 respectively. Both cell types were encapsulated in 5% GelMA and injected into RS of 6mm length and 2-3 mm orifice wide. White Mineral Trioxide Aggregate (WMTA) was used to seal one of the orifices while the other was left open. Samples were cultured in vitro in osteogenic media for 10 days, and subsequently implanted subcutaneously in the back of nude rats for 4 and 8 weeks. RS injected with acellular GelMA alone, and empty RS were used as controls. At least five (5) sample replicates were used for each experimental and control group.
Results: H&E, IHC and confocal analyses are being conducted on all experimental groups to investigate mineralized tissue formation, and possible formation of dentin-pulp complex and vascularization.
Conclusions: Preliminary bright field light microscopic analyses revealed vascularization of in vivo implanted cell-seeded TR segments. Ongoing analysis of histology, IHC and Confocal analyses for in vitro and in vivo samples are currently being performed.
Source:
Journal of Dental Research; December 2016