[Effect of transfected EphB4 on osteogenic differentiation in stem cells from human exfoliated deciduous teeth].

PURPOSE: To evaluate the effect of stem cells from human exfoliated deciduous teeth (SHED) transfected with EphB4 gene in regulating osteogenic differentiation.

METHODS: Human dental pulp tissue were harvested from extracted deciduous teeth and digested by collagenase and dispase. The SHEDs were transfected with transgenic (hEphB4-GFP) vector or empty vector (GFP-vector). Real time-polymerase chain reaction（real time-PCR） analysis and Western blot were used to detect the expression of EphB4 in SHEDs after transfection. EphB4-SHEDs and GFP-SHEDs were subjected to osteogenic induction and assessed by alkaline phosphatase(ALP) assay and Alizarin-red S staining. SPSS 16.0 software package was used for statistical analysis.

RESULTS: Real time-PCR revealed that the expression of EphB4 was significantly enhanced in EphB4-SHEDs compared to GFP-SHEDs (P<0.05). The expression of EphB4 protein was significantly higher (P<0.05) in EphB4-SHEDs compared to GFP-SHEDs. ALP assay and Alizarin-red S staining demonstrated higher ALP activity and increased mineralization with EphB4-SHEDs.

CONCLUSIONS: The results indicate that transgenic expression of EphB4 in SHEDs could promote osteogenic differentiation.