ROLE OF SYNTHETIC EXTRACELLULAR-MATRIX IN DEVELOPMENT OF ENGINEERED DENTAL-PULP

In cases of damaged oral tissues, traditional therapies, such as a roo t canal, replace the injured tissue with a synthetic material. However , while the materials currently used can offer structural replacement of the lost tissue, they are incapable of completely replacing the fun ction of the original tissue, and often fail over time. This report de scribes a tissue engineering approach to dental pulp tissue replacemen t utilizing cultured cells seeded upon synthetic extracellular matrice s. Human pulp fibroblasts were obtained and multiplied in culture. The se cells were then seeded onto three different synthetic matrices: sca ffolds fabricated from polyglycolic acid (PGA) fibers, a type I collag en hydrogel, and alginate in an effort to examine which matrix is most suitable for dental pulp tissue formation. In addition, methods previ ously developed for seeding and culturing pulp cells on PGA were optim ized. Culturing cells on PGA resulted in a very high cell density tiss ue with significant collagen deposition. No cell proliferation was obs erved on alginate, and the growth of cells in collagen gels after 45 d ays was only moderate. These studies indicate dental pulp-like tissues can be engineered, and this may provide the first step to engineering a complete tooth.