Reconstruction of dentin-pulp complex structure by tissue engineering technology / 中华口腔医学杂志

ABSTRACT

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To investigate the possibility of reconstruction of dentin-pulp complex by tissue engineering technology.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>Rat dental pulp stem cells were seeded into HA-TCP scaffold and incubated for 20 hours in vitro. Then the cell-scaffold complex was implanted subcutaneously into the dorsal side of nude mice. 8 weeks postimplantation, the samples were extracted for histological and immunohistochemical examinations.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>Three strata of tissue were observed in the hole of HA-TCP scaffold. They were dentin-like tissue, predentin-like tissue and pulp-like tissue respectively from the inner surface of the pore to the center. Dentin tubules were obvious in predentin-like and dentin-like tissue lining from the pulp-like tissue through predentin-like tissue and dentin-like tissue. Cells localized along the edge of pulp-like tissue were dense and polarized, resembling odontoblasts. Immunohistochemical study demonstrated DSP and DMP1 expression in these odontoblast-like cells and in the area of predentin-like tissue.</p><p><b>CONCLUSIONS</b>Tissue-engineered rat dentin-pulp complex was reconstructed by seeding HA-TCP scaffold with rat dental pulp stem cells.</p>