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Pathologies of the central nervous system are characterized by loss of brain tissue and neuronal function which cannot be adequately restored by endogenous repair processes. This stresses the need for novel treatment options such as cell-based therapies that are able to restore damaged tissue or stimulate repair. This study investigated the neuroregenerative potential of the conditioned medium of human dental pulp stem cells (CM-hDPSCs) on neural stem cell (NSC) proliferation and migration as well as on neurite outgrowth of primary cortical neurons (pCNs). Additionally, the effect of leukocyte- and platelet-rich fibrin (L-PRF) priming on the neuroregenerative potential of the hDPSC secretome on NSCs and pCNs was evaluated. L-PRF contains factors that enhance stem cell-induced regeneration, but its effect on hDPSC-mediated neuroregeneration is unknown. This study demonstrated that CM-hDPSCs enhanced neuritogenesis. Moreover, CM-hDPSCs had a chemoattractant effect on NSCs. Although priming hDPSCs with L-PRF increased brain-derived neurotrophic factor secretion, no additional effects on the paracrine-mediated repair mechanisms were observed. These data support the neuroregenerative potential of hDPSCs, and although priming had no additional effect, the potential of L-PRF-primed hDPSCs on distinct regenerative mechanisms remains to be clarified. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Bacterial genomes accommodate a variety of mobile genetic elements, including bacteriophage-related clusters that encode phage tail-likeprotein complexesplaying a role ininteractions with eukaryoticorprokaryotic cells. Such tailocins areunable toreplicate inside target cells due to the lack of a phage head with associatedDNA.Asubset of tailocins mediate antagonistic activitieswith bacteriocinlike specificity. Functional characterization of bactericidal tailocins of two Pseudomonas putida rhizosphere isolates revealed not only extensive similarity with the tail assembly module of the Pseudomonas aeruginosa R-type pyocins but also differences in genomic integration site, regulatory genes, and lytic releasemodules. Conversely, these three features are quite similar between strains of the P. putidaandPseudomonasfluorescens clades, althoughphylogenetic analysisof tailgenes suggeststhemtohave evolved separately. Unlike P. aeruginosa R pyocin elements, the tailocin gene clusters of other pseudomonads frequently carry cargo genes, including bacteriocins. Compared with P. aeruginosa, the tailocin tail fiber sequences that act as specificity determinants have divergedmuch more extensively among the other pseudomonad species,mostly isolates from soil and plant environments. Activity of the P. putida antibacterial particles requires a functional lipopolysaccharide layer on target cells, but contrary to R pyocins from P. aeruginosa, strain susceptibilities surpass species boundaries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Fibroblast activation protein-α (FAPα) is a membrane protein with dipeptidyl-peptidase and type I collagenase activity and is expressed during fetal growth. At the age of adolescence, FAPα expression is greatly reduced, only emerging in pathologies associated with extracellular matrix remodeling. We determined whether FAPα is expressed in human dental tissue involved in root maturation i.e., dental follicle and apical papilla and in dental pulp tissue. The dental follicle revealed a high concentration of FAPα and vimentin-positive cells within the stromal tissue. A similar observation was made in cell culture and FACS analysis confirmed these as dental follicle stem cells. Within the remnants of the Hertwigs' epithelial root sheath, we observed FAPα staining in the E-cadherin positive and vimentin-negative epithelial islands. FAPα- and vimentin-positive cells were encountered at the periphery of the islands suggesting an epithelial mesenchymal transition process. Analysis of the apical papilla revealed two novel histological regions; the periphery with dense and parallel aligned collagen type I defined as cortex fibrosa and the inner stromal tissue composed of less compacted collagen defined as medulla. FAPα expression was highly present within the medulla suggesting a role in extracellular matrix remodeling. Dental pulp tissue uncovered a heterogeneous FAPα staining but strong staining was noted within odontoblasts. In vitro studies confirmed the presence of FAPα expression in stem cells of the apical papilla and dental pulp. This study identified the expression of FAPα expression in dental stem cells which could open new perspectives in understanding dental root maturation and odontoblast function., (Copyright © 2020 Driesen, Hilkens, Smisdom, Vangansewinkel, Dillen, Ratajczak, Wolfs, Gervois, Ameloot, Bronckaers and Lambrichts.)

Stroke is the second most common cause of death and is a major cause of permanent disability. Given the current demographic trend of an ageing population and associated increased risk, the prevalence of and socioeconomic burden caused by stroke will continue to rise. Current therapies are unable to sufficiently ameliorate the disease outcome and are not applicable to all patients. Therefore, strategies such as cell-based therapies with mesenchymal stem cell (MSC) or induced pluripotent stem cell (iPSC) pave the way for new treatment options for stroke. These cells showed great preclinical promise despite the fact that the precise mechanism of action and the optimal administration route are unknown. To gain dynamic insights into the underlying repair processes after stem cell engraftment, noninvasive imaging modalities were developed to provide detailed spatial and functional information on the donor cell fate and host microenvironment. This review will focus on MSCs and iPSCs as types of widely used stem cell sources in current (bio)medical research and compare their efficacy and potential to ameliorate the disease outcome in animal stroke models. In addition, novel noninvasive imaging strategies allowing temporospatial in vivo tracking of transplanted cells and coinciding evaluation of neuronal repair following stroke will be discussed., (© 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.)

Over the past decade, dental tissues have become an attractive source of mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs). Dental stem cells (DSCs) are not only able to differentiate into adipogenic, chondrogenic and osteogenic lineanges, but an increasing amount of research also pointed out their potential applicability in numerous clinical disorders, such as myocardial infarction, neurodegenerative diseases and diabetes. Together with their multilineage differentiation capacity, their easy availability from extracted third molars makes these stem cells a suitable alternative for bone marrow-derived MSCs. More importantly, DSCs appear to retain their stem cell properties following cryopreservation, a key aspect in their long-term preservation and upscale production. However, the vast number of different cryopreservation protocols makes it difficult to draw definite conclusions regarding the behavior of these stem cells. The routine application and banking of DSCs is also associated with some other pitfalls, such as interdonor variability, cell culture-induced changes and the use of animal-derived culture medium additives. Only thorough assessment of these challenges and the implementation of standardized, GMP procedures will successfully lead to better treatment options for patients who no longer benefit from current stem cell therapies.

Within the field of tissue engineering, natural tissues are reconstructed by combining growth factors, stem cells, and different biomaterials to serve as a scaffold for novel tissue growth. As adequate vascularization and innervation are essential components for the viability of regenerated tissues, there is a high need for easily accessible stem cells that are capable of supporting these functions. Within the human tooth and its surrounding tissues, different stem cell populations can be distinguished, such as dental pulp stem cells, stem cells from human deciduous teeth, stem cells from the apical papilla, dental follicle stem cells, and periodontal ligament stem cells. Given their straightforward and relatively easy isolation from extracted third molars, dental stem cells (DSCs) have become an attractive source of mesenchymal-like stem cells. Over the past decade, there have been numerous studies supporting the angiogenic, neuroprotective, and neurotrophic effects of the DSC secretome. Together with their ability to differentiate into endothelial cells and neural cell types, this makes DSCs suitable candidates for dental tissue engineering and nerve injury repair.