Enrichment and Schwann Cell Differentiation of Neural Crest-derived Dental Pulp Stem Cells.

As already described in previous studies, neural crest stem cells (NCSCs) can be found in adult human dental pulp. The present study investigated the methodology for enrichment and differentiation-induction of the above mentioned cells.Dental pulp was extracted from human wisdom teeth of four patients and subsequently cultured as explants on fibronectin-coated plates in neurobasal medium supplemented with B27, basic fibroblast growth factor (bFGF), epidermal growth factor (EGF), insulin, l-glutamine and neuregulin-β1. The cells were then characterized by immunofluorescence, while their differentiation-potential was tested by the attempt to induce cells into different lineages, i.e. osteogenic, melanocytic and glial.The enriched cell population expressed nestin, CD271 and SOX10, which are well-known markers for NCSCs. Consequently, the cells were successfully induced to differentiate into osteoblasts, melanocytes and Schwann cells, expressing the corresponding differentiation markers.Human adult dental pulp contains a population of stem cells with neural crest ontogeny, which can thus be recruited for multiple regenerative therapies.