Effect of stem cells of dental pulp origin on osseointegration of titanium implant in a novel rat vertebra model

Abstract

During that last decade a large number of experiments showed the successful application of stem cells in achieving large
bone volume regeneration. On the contrary, our knowledge about the promotion of implant osseointegration by stem cell
is sporadic. Recently, our research group has carried out an array of studies aiming the characterization of postnatal stem
cells of dental origin. In addition, we have developed a novel quantitative model for implant osseointegration in rat tail
vertebrae. In the present work we aimed to study how the implant osseointegration process is affected by mesenchymal
stem cells of rat dental pulp origin (DPSC) when cells are undifferentiated or predifferentiated into osteogenic direction.
Our results show that undifferentiated pulp cells inserted between the implant and the bone slow down the osseointegration
process. On the other hand, pre-differentiated DPSCs do not have a similar adverse effect any more. Our data suggest
that the success of mesenchymal stem cell application to promote implant osseointegration is highly dependent on
the applied conditions, particularly on the parallel application of scaffolds and osteogenic components.