诱导成体人牙周韧带干细胞向软骨细胞分化的实验研究

目的从成体人牙周组织中分离培养牙周韧带干细胞，研究其分化为软骨细胞的可行性。方法选取10～15岁的年轻患者因正畸拔除的健康牙齿，刮取根中1／3的牙周膜，采用组织块培养法得到牙周韧带细胞，待细胞达一定量后用有限元稀释法进行单细胞克隆，筛选牙周韧带干细胞（PDLSC），体外采用离心管聚集体诱导法进行软骨化诱导培养，光镜下观察诱导细胞形态学的改变，甲苯胺蓝染色、免疫组化、RT-PCR等方法检测胶原和糖蛋白的体外表达情况。结果体外离心管聚集体诱导培养3周后，实验组呈白色半透明状，甲苯胺蓝染色显示在外周区域有大量软骨基质成分沉积，组织学显示有较为明显的软骨陷窝。免疫组化及RT-PCR检测到Ⅱ型胶原表达，Ⅱ型胶原染色呈强阳性。对照组细胞团块逐渐收缩、崩解，组织学检测无软骨陷窝结构，Ⅱ型胶原免疫组化结果阴性。结论从成体人牙周组织中可分离培养出干细胞，在体外能有效增殖且保持低分化状态，具有作为软骨组织工程种子细胞来源的可能，也为牙周组织工程的应用奠定了实验基础。

Chondrogenic differentiation of adult human periodontal ligament stem cells in vitro

OBJECTIVE: To isolate and cultivate human periodontal ligament stem cells (PDLSC) and to investigate the feasibility of PDLSC in vitro differentiation into chondrogenic phenotype. METHODS: Periodontal tissue was obtained from healthy young human teeth extracted for orthodontic purposes. PDLSCs were isolated by single-colony selection and cultivated. PDLSC of passage 3 was plated at density of 1 x 10(7) cells/cm3 and induced with chondrogenic induction medium of DMEM containing TGF-beta1 (10 microg/L), IGF-1 (50 microg/L), dexamethasone (40 microg/L) and 10% FBS. In control group, the constructs were maintained in DMEM medium + 10% FBS. After 21 days induction, the results were evaluated by histology, histochemistry, immunohistochemistry and RT-PCR. RESULTS: The constructs in experimental group were smooth and relatively firm in texture after 3 weeks of culture. Toluidine blue staining showed the formation of distinct lacuna structure. Positive staining of type II collagen was also detected by immunohistochemistry and it was confirmed by RT-PCR. In contrast, in the control group, the constructs collapsed gradually, lacuna was barely detected in histology and type II collagen expression negative. CONCLUSIONS: Periodontal ligament contain stem cells can be isolated and cultivated. PDLSC have the potential of chondrogenic differentiation.