Isolation and evaluation of dental pulp stem cells from teeth with advanced periodontal disease.

INTRODUCTION Successful isolation of mesenchymal stem cells from waste tissues might be extremely promising for developing stem cell-based therapies. This study aimed to explore whether cells retrieved from teeth extracted due to advanced periodontal disease present mesenchymal stem cell-like properties. METHODS Pulp cells were isolated from 15 intact molars and 15 teeth with advanced periodontal disease. Cell proliferation and markers of mesenchymal stem cells were evaluated. RESULTS Based on the RT-PCR and agarose gel electrophoresis, nucleostemin, Oct-4 and jmj2c, but not Nanog, were expressed in undifferentiated mesenchymal stem cells of both groups. Interestingly, diseased pulp exhibited higher gene expressions although it was not statistically significant. The average percentage of BrdU positive cells in the diseased group (84.4%, n = 5) was significantly higher than that of the control group (65.4%, n = 5) (t-test, P = 0.001). CONCLUSION Our results indicate the successful isolation of mesenchymal stem cells from the pulp tissue of hopeless periodontally involved teeth.