Potencial cell transformation in mesenchymal stem cells derived from human dental pulp stem cells

Abstract

Stem cells are undifferentiated cells, able to self-renewal and to differentiate into various cell types. Adult stem cells (ASCs) are considered multipotent, possess the ability to differentiate into various cell types, but with a certain limitation corresponding to the origin tissue and are found in all adult tissues. Mesenchymal stem cells (MSC) are a type of ASC and are being widely studied, being considered as an important tool for Cellular Therapy. These have been isolated from various adult organs and tissues such as umbilical cord, adipose tissue, skin, skeletal muscle, articular cartilage, bone marrow and tooth. Our group has been studying stem cells from dental pulp from children (SHED) and adults (DPSC) teeth, checking their potential to differentiate into multiple cell lines and the influence of overexpression and inhibition of genes related to the control of extracellular matrix remodeling and the biology of these cells. The observation that embryonic stem cells (ESC) form benign tumors in vivo (teratoma), showed the possibility of tumor development as a result of cellular therapy using ESC. Thus, the need to understand the cellular transformation of stem cells emerged as a prerequisite for the safe use in cellular therapy. Our goal is to check whether the cell surface markers of MSC are present in human dental pulp, DPSC and SHED (same patient) and whether these markers are still present after injection of these cells in immunosupressed animals and to assess the ability of these cells develop tumor or teratoma.