Neural Regeneration Research ›› 2013, Vol. 8 ›› Issue (30): 2827-2837.doi: 10.3969/j.issn.1673-5374.2013.30.005

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Human periodontal ligament stem cells repair mental nerve injury

Bohan Li1, Hun-Jong Jung2, Soung-Min Kim3, Myung-Jin Kim3, Jeong Won Jahng4, Jong-Ho Lee3, 4   

  1. 1 Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, School of Dentistry, Binzhou Medical College, Binzhou, Shandong Province, China
    2 Department of Occupation and Environment, Konkuk Postgraduate Medical School, Choong-Ju, Korea
    3 Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, School of Dentistry, Seoul National University, Seoul, Korea
    4 Dental Research Institute, Seoul National University, Seoul, Korea
  • Received:2013-06-25 Revised:2013-08-26 Online:2013-10-25 Published:2013-10-25
  • Contact: Jong-Ho Lee, D.D.S., M.S.D., Ph.D., Professor, Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, Clinical Trial Center and Oral Cancer Center, School of Dentistry, Seoul National University 275-1, Yeongun-Dong, Chongro-Ku, Seoul, 110-768, Korea, leejongh@snu.ac.kr.
  • Supported by:

    This study was supported by a grant of the Korea Healthcare Technology R&D Project, Ministry for Health, Welfare & Family Affairs, Republic of Korea, No. A101578.

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Abstract:

Human periodontal ligament stem cells are easily accessible and can differentiate into Schwann cells. We hypothesized that human periodontal ligament stem cells can be used as an alternative source for the autologous Schwann cells in promoting the regeneration of injured peripheral nerve. To validate this hypothesis, human periodontal ligament stem cells (1 × 106) were injected into the crush-injured left mental nerve in rats. Simultaneously, autologous Schwann cells (1 × 106) and PBS were also injected as controls. Real-time reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction showed that at 5 days after injection, mRNA expression of low affinity nerve growth factor receptor was significantaly increased in the left trigeminal ganglion of rats with mental nerve injury. Sensory tests, histomorphometric evaluation and retrograde labeling demonstrated that at 2 and 4 weeks after in-jection, sensory function was significantly improved, the numbers of retrograde labeled sensory neurons and myelinated axons were significantly increased, and human periodontal ligament stem cells and autologous Schwann cells exhibited similar therapeutic effects. These findings suggest that transplantation of human periodontal ligament stem cells show a potential value in repair of mental nerve injury.

Key words: neural regeneration, peripheral nerve injury, stem cells, periodontal ligament stem cells, mental nerve, Schwann cells, cell transplantation, sensory nerve, neurotrophic factor, neuroregeneration