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ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Front. Cell Dev. Biol.
Sec. Stem Cell Research
Volume 13 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fcell.2025.1532898
This article is part of the Research Topic Advances in Dental Pulp Stem Cell Biology and Applications View all 3 articles
Regulation and functional importance of human periodontal ligament mesenchymal stromal cells with various rates of CD146+ cells
Provisionally accepted
Oliwia Miłek 
Katharina Schwarz Alma Miletić Johanna Reisinger Alexander Kovar 
Christian Behm 
Oleh Andrukhov *- University Clinic of Dentistry, Medical University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria
Introduction: Mesenchymal stromal cells (MSCs) with high expression of CD146 have superior properties for tissue regeneration. However, high variability in the rate of CD146+ cells among donors is observed. In this study, the possible reasons behind this variability in human periodontal ligament MSCs (hPDL-MSCs) were explored. Methods: hPDL-MSCs were isolated from 22 different donors, and rates of CD146+ cells were analyzed by flow cytometry. Furthermore, populations with various rates of CD146+ cells were isolated with magnetic separation. The dependency of cell proliferation, viability, cell cycle, and osteogenic differentiation on the rates of CD146+ cells was investigated. Besides, the effects of various factors, like cell density, confluence, and inflammatory environment on the CD146+ rate and expression were analyzed. Results: The rate of CD146+ cells exhibited high variability between donors, with the percentage of CD146+ cells ranging from 3% to 67%. Higher percentage of CD146+ cells was associated with higher proliferation, presumably due to the higher percentage of cells in the S-phase, and higher osteogenic differentiation potential. Prolonged cell confluence and higher cell seeding density led to the decline in the rate of CD146+ cells. The surface rate of CD146 in hPDL-MSCs was stimulated by the treatment with interleukin-1β and tumor necrosis factor-α, and inhibited by the treatment with interferon-γ. Conclusion: These results suggest that hPDL-MSCs with high rate of CD146+ cells are a promising subpopulation for enhancing the effectiveness of MSC-based regenerative therapies, however the rate of CD146 is affected by various factors, which must be considered for cell propagation and their potential application in vivo.
Keywords: mesenchymal stem cells1, stromal cells2, periodontal ligament3, periodontitis4, CD1465. Words: 5019, Figures: 7, Tables: 0, Supplementary Tables: 1
Received: 22 Nov 2024; Accepted: 17 Feb 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Miłek, Schwarz, Miletić, Reisinger, Kovar, Behm and Andrukhov. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence:
Oleh Andrukhov, University Clinic of Dentistry, Medical University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria
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