人類牙髓幹細胞為多功能間葉前驅細胞,具有高度的增生及自我更新能力。在無血清培養基下培養和增殖前驅細胞,將有利於將來移植和臨床細胞治療運用。然而,在含血清之培養基培養下通常會減少人類牙髓幹細胞之幹細胞能力,而妨礙細胞在轉譯醫學上的運用。本研究計畫主要為探討,在無血清培養基加上類胰島素生長因子-1 (Insulin-like growth factor-1, IGF-1),測試人類牙髓幹細胞之增生以及維持幹細胞特性之能力。在我們研究中,牙髓幹細胞從成人齒顎矯正患者取得,並用CD73+ 磁性細胞分選技術 (Magnetic activated cell sorting system, MACS) 來篩選更純化的牙髓幹細胞 。將分離出具CD73+ 牙髓幹細胞同時培養在控制組 (MCDB201),或添加IGF-1、PPP (IGF-1R磷酸化的抑制劑)、LY294002 (PI3-K 的抑制劑),和 PD98059 (MAPK 抑制劑)。 與控制組比較,藉由Hemocytometer counter測定,發現IGF-1訊息傳遞增加細胞增生能力以及促進表現幹細胞特定標誌的表現,例如CD73和CD166,以及增加細胞脂化和細胞骨化之分化能力。此外,PPP 和 LY294002明顯地抑制牙髓幹細胞內IGF-1訊息傳遞路徑,而PD98059沒有影響。實驗結果發現,IGF-1/ IGF-1受體之訊息傳遞在人類牙髓幹細胞之增生能力和維持幹細胞特性之能力扮演重要角色。
Human dental pulp stem cells (DPSCs) are multipotent mesenchymal progenitor cells with high proliferative potential and self-renewal ability. Sustaining and amplifying progenitor cell populations with serum-free culture system would greatly benefit for autograft transplantation and clinical cell therapy. However, serum-containing culture medium usually dramatically decreases the stem cell ability of DPSCs and hinders their application in translational medicine. In this proposal a serum-free culture medium combined with insulin-like growth factor (IGF-1) will be tested for the cell proliferation ability and stemness maintenance of DPSCs. In our studies, the DPSCs were isolated from dental pulps of adult orthodontic patients using CD73+-magnetic activated cell sorting system (MACS). The isolated CD73+ DPSCs were cultivated in control medium (MCDB201) with or without IGF-1 and/or PPP (a inhibitor of IGF-1R phosphorylation), LY294002 (a PI3-K inhibitor), and PD98059 (a MAPK inhibitor). While comparing with the control group, IGF-1 significantly increased the cell proliferation ability (by Hemocytometer counter), the expression level of stem cell-specific markers (CD73 and CD166), and differentiation capacity (adipogenesis and osteogenesis). PPP and LY294002, but not PD98059, dramatically suppressed the effect of IGF-1 on DPSCs. These results highlight an important role of IGF-1/IGF-1R signaling in proliferation and stemness maintenance of human DPSCs.