Osteogenesis from Dental Pulp Derived Stem Cells: A Novel Conditioned Medium Including Melatonin within a Mixture of Hyaluronic, Butyric, and Retinoic Acids

Abstract

Human dental pulp stem cells (hDPSCs) have shown relevant potential for cell therapy in the orthopedic and odontoiatric fields. The optimization of their osteogenic potential is currently a major challenge. Vascular endothelial growth factor A (VEGF A) has been recently reported to act as a major conductor of osteogenesis in vitro and in vivo. Here, we attempted to prime endogenous VEGF A expression without the need for viral vector mediated gene transfer technologies. We show that hDPSCs exposure to a mixture of hyaluronic, butyric, and retinoic acids (HA + BU + RA) induced the transcription of a gene program of osteogenesis and the acquirement of an osteogenic lineage. Such response was also elicited by cell exposure to melatonin, a pleiotropic agent that recently emerged as a remarkable osteogenic inducer. Interestingly, the commitment to the osteogenic fate was synergistically enhanced by the combinatorial exposure to a conditioned medium containing both melatonin and HA + BU + RA. These in vitro results suggest that in vivo osteogenesis might be improved and further studies are needed.