Effect of stem cells of dental pulp origin on osseointegration of titanium implant in a novel rat vertebra model.
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 applicatioh of scaffolds and osteogenic components.