PLoS ONE (Jan 2014)

Derivation of iPSCs after culture of human dental pulp cells under defined conditions.

  • Tomoko Takeda-Kawaguchi,
  • Ken Sugiyama,
  • Shunji Chikusa,
  • Kazuki Iida,
  • Hitomi Aoki,
  • Naritaka Tamaoki,
  • Daijiro Hatakeyama,
  • Takahiro Kunisada,
  • Toshiyuki Shibata,
  • Noemi Fusaki,
  • Ken-Ichi Tezuka

DOI
https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0115392
Journal volume & issue
Vol. 9, no. 12
p. e115392

Abstract

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Human dental pulp cells (hDPCs) are a promising resource for regenerative medicine and tissue engineering and can be used for derivation of induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs). However, current protocols use reagents of animal origin (mainly fetal bovine serum, FBS) that carry the potential risk of infectious diseases and unwanted immunogenicity. Here, we report a chemically defined protocol to isolate and maintain the growth and differentiation potential of hDPCs. hDPCs cultured under these conditions showed significantly less primary colony formation than those with FBS. Cell culture under stringently defined conditions revealed a donor-dependent growth capacity; however, once established, the differentiation capabilities of the hDPCs were comparable to those observed with FBS. DNA array analyses indicated that the culture conditions robustly altered hDPC gene expression patterns but, more importantly, had little effect on neither pluripotent gene expression nor the efficiency of iPSC induction. The chemically defined culture conditions described herein are not perfect serum replacements, but can be used for the safe establishment of iPSCs and will find utility in applications for cell-based regenerative medicine.