Alexandria, Va., USA - At the 96th General Session of the International Association for Dental Research (IADR), held in conjunction with the IADR Pan European Regional (PER) Congress, Yao Liu, China Medical University, Taiwan, Province of China gave an oral presentation titled "PD-1 is Required to Dental Pulp Stem Cell Properties." The IADR/PER General Session & Exhibition is in London, England at the ExCeL London Convention Center from July 25-28, 2018.
Programmed cell death-1 (PD-1) belongs to an inhibitory signaling pathway capable of maintaining immune tolerance. Blockage of PD-1 has been identified as a promising immunotherapeutic approach for cancer and infectious diseases. However, it is unknown whether PD-1 pathway regulates stem cell function. In this study, Liu and co-authors identify a previously unknown role of PD-1 in maintaining stem cell function.
The PD-1 expression in Dental Mesenchymal Stem Cells from dental pulp of Deciduous Teeth (MSC-DT) and Dental Mesenchymal Stem Cells (MSC) from bone marrow (BMMSCs) were analyzed. The results showed that MSC-DT, but not BMMSCs, expressed PD-1. When the PD-1 expression in MSC-DT was removed, the MSC-DT resulted in significantly reduced proliferation rate.
This study indicates that PD-1 is a key surface molecule controlling self-renewal and multipotential differentiation of MSC-DT and identified a previously unknown role of PD-1 in maintaining stem cell function. PD-1 can be used as a unique surface marker to isolate and characterize MSC-DT. This allows researchers to significantly improve the quality and quantity of culture-expanded MSC-DT for potential clinical therapies.
This research was presented as part of the Stem Cell and Tissue Regeneration oral session that took place on Thursday, July 25 from 1:30 p.m. - 3 p.m. at the ExCeL London Convention Center in London, England.