Characterization of p75 neurotrophin receptor expression in human dental pulp stem cells.
Wenru Pan, Karlea L Kremer, Xenia Kaidonis, Victoria E Ludlow, Mary-Louise Rogers, Jianling Xie, Christopher G Proud, Simon A Koblar
Author Information
Wenru Pan: School of Medical Science, Australia; South Australian Health & Medical Research Institute, South Australia, Australia.
Karlea L Kremer: School of Medicine, Australia; South Australian Health & Medical Research Institute, South Australia, Australia.
Xenia Kaidonis: School of Medicine, Australia; South Australian Health & Medical Research Institute, South Australia, Australia.
Victoria E Ludlow: School of Medicine, Australia; South Australian Health & Medical Research Institute, South Australia, Australia.
Mary-Louise Rogers: Human Physiology, Centre for Neuroscience, School of Medicine, Flinders University, Australia.
Jianling Xie: South Australian Health & Medical Research Institute, South Australia, Australia.
Christopher G Proud: School of Biological Sciences, University of Adelaide, Australia; South Australian Health & Medical Research Institute, South Australia, Australia.
Simon A Koblar: School of Medicine, Australia; South Australian Health & Medical Research Institute, South Australia, Australia. Electronic address: simon.koblar@adelaide.edu.au.
Human adult dental pulp stem cells (DPSC) are a heterogeneous stem cell population, which are able to differentiate down neural, chondrocyte, osteocyte and adipocyte lineages. We studied the expression pattern of p75 neurotrophin receptors (p75NTR), a marker of neural stem cells, within human DPSC populations from eight donors. p75NTR are expressed at low levels (<10%) in DPSC. Importantly, p75(+) DPSC represent higher expression levels of SOX1 (neural precursor cell marker), SOX2 (cell pluripotency marker) and nestin (neural stem cell marker) in comparison to p75(-) DPSC. Our results suggest that p75(+) hDPSC may denote a subpopulation with greater neurogenic potential.
