Gene Expression of Neural Markers in Human Dental Follicle Cells

抄録

Neurotrauma and neurodegenerative diseases are associated with the loss of functioning neural cells in the nervous system. Many studies reported that function can be restored by replacing lost cells with stem cells that can mature into neural cells. From this perspective,mesenchymal stem cells represent a valuable tool for regenerative therapy because of their ability to differentiate along several lineages, such as adipocytes, osteoblasts, chondrocytes and neural cells. The dental follicle is an ectomesenchymal tissue surrounding the developing tooth germ. Human dental follicle cells(hDFCs)have the capacity to commit to differentiation into multiple cell types. In this study, we investigated the capacity of hDFCs to differentiate into neural cells, and the efficiency of the neural differentiation process.

There was a gene relevant to a neural cell in hDFC. We expanded these findings to address the gene expression of neural markers in hDFCs during neuronal differentiation. The expression levels of Musashi(MSI)-1 and -2, which are neural progenitor cell markers,microtubule-associated protein 2 (MAP2) which is a neuronal cell marker, and glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP)and myelin basic protein (MBP), which are glial cell markers, were up-regulated in hDFCs undergoing neural differentiation during culture in neuronal differentiation medium. The expression of tubulin-β-III(TUBB3), which is an early neuronal cell marker, was peaked on day 3. Furthermore, expression of Nestin(NES) did not change. In conclusion, these in vitro data suggest that hDFCs have the capacity to differentiate along neural lineages, raising the possibility that hDFCs may represent a practical and convenient source of adult stem cells for cell-based therapies to treat neurological diseases or trauma.