Effects of exosomes from human dental pulp stem cells on the biological behavior of human fibroblasts

The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of dental pulp stem cell-derived exosomes (DPSCs-Exos) on the biological behaviour of fibroblasts, particularly on keloid fibroblasts (KFs) and normal skin fibroblasts (NFs), with a view to providing new insights into cellular regenerative medicine. We obtained DPSCs-Exos by ultracentrifugation and co-cultured it with KFs and NFs. We detected its effect on cell proliferation using the CCK-8 assay; cell migration ability by cell scratch and Transwell assays; extracellular matrix synthesis using the hydroxyproline content assay; the expression levels of genes associated with fibrosis by PCR assay; and the expression levels of proteins related to fibrosis in the cells using the Western Blot method. DPSCs-Exos was able to be taken up by fibroblasts after addition to the culture medium and affected the biological behavior of NFs and KFs. DPSCs-Exos promoted the proliferation of NFs, inhibited the migration and extracellular matrix synthesis of KFs. In addition, DPSCs-Exos was able to inhibit the expression of fibrosis-related genes and proteins in KFs. This study highlights the role of DPSCs-Exos in regulating the biological behaviour of fibroblasts, providing new insights for future applications in the field of cell-free regenerative medicine.