Abstract
Gingiva is part of the soft tissue lining of the mouth which surrounds and protects the teeth. In the
gingiva there are some unique structures which are essential for wound healing and repair. One of
the characteristics of gingiva is to stimulate osteogenesis owing to mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs)
contained in the tissue. In this study, we developed a method to isolate mouse gingiva-derived stem
cells and characterize these cells for MSCs properties in detail. The results showed that gingivaderived
MSCs (GMSCs) showed spindle-shaped fibroblast-like morphology and adherence to plastic.
Furthermore, the GMSCs were able to differentiate into multi-lineages (osteogensis, adipogensis,
chondrogensis), and strong expression of CD90 and CD105, but lack of CD19 and CD45, was
detected by flow cytometry. Expression of two gingiva-dependent miRNAs: miR-146a and miR-155
were observed by RT-qPCR. Supported by these results, it was indicated that gingiva-derived stem
cells might be a promising source in tissue engineering.
