Dental Pulp Stem Cells: Isolation, Characterization, Expansion, and Odontoblast Differentiation for Tissue Engineering

Tissue engineering is an interdisciplinary area offering a promising approach by the use of stem cells combined with scaffolds and signaling factors for regeneration of damaged or lost tissues. Incorporation of a sufficient number of cells which do not elicit the immunoreaction in the body is a pivotal element for successful tissue formation using this method. Stem cells exhibiting strong capacity to self-renew and differentiate into different cell types are considered as a potent cell source. Among various cell sources, dental pulp stem cells (DPSCs) are widely under investigation due to the fact that they are simply obtainable from extracted third molars or orthodontically extracted teeth and show an excellent potential for clinical application and also their harvesting method is minimally invasive. DPSCs are odontogenic progenitor cells with clonogenic abilities, rapid proliferation rates, and multiple differentiation potentials. Here, we describe protocols that allow 1) the isolation of DPSCs from a single tooth; 2) the characterization of human mesenchymal stem cells markers of DPSCs by flow cytometry; 3) the culture growth of DPSCs in 2D (in cell culture flasks) and 3D (by 3D printing of cell-laden constructs); and 4) the in vivo evaluation of differentiation potential of DPSCs.