Project R-4248

FWO KaN project: Dental stem cells and angiogenesis: on the road to dental pulp regeneration (Research)

Despite today's technological advancements and professional health care, tooth loss remains a major public health issue in the Western world. Since the currently used prostheses are prone to biological and mechanical failure and inorganic pulp replacement materials often lead to pulp necrosis, there is an urgent need for better alternatives. Within the human tooth, several mesenchymal-like stem cell populations can be distinguished, such as dental pulp stem cells, cells from the apical papilla and dental follicle stem cells, which may provide an effective strategy for pulp regeneration. Since vascularization is an important issue in tissue engineering, this project will study the angiogenic properties of these dental stem cells, i.e. the paracrine angiogenic effects by means of different in vitro and in vivo models of angiogenesis. A functional tooth prosthese does not only require a blood vessel network, but also a scaffold. As 3D-imprinted scaffolds have been successfully applied in regenerative craniofacial surgery, we will also use a custom made 3D-hydroxy-apathite tooth loaded with stem cells and evaluate its functionality in an in vivo mouse tooth pulp regeneration model. Our research might ultimately lead to the development of better tooth replacement strategies.

01 January 2013 - 31 December 2015