Background: Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) are attractive cell sources for tissue engineering application because of their ability to proliferate and differentiate into mesenchymal tissues. MSCs derived from human gingiva are readily accessible and highly proliferative with the ability to differentiate into an osteogenic lineage, making them ideal sources for tissue regeneration of craniofacial defects. While dexamethasone is a traditional inducer of osteogenic differentiation, studies have shown that its prolonged presence in culture medium may have toxic effects on osteoblasts. Many antioxidants play a vital role in promoting osteogenic differentiation and offer a potential alternative to dexamethasone. It has been demonstrated that curcumin can promote osteogenesis of rat derived bone marrow mesenchymal cells, suggesting that curcumin can be used in the treatment of bone lesions. Previous studies reported that bromelain treatment relieved osteoarthritis, indicating that bromelain may be able to promote bone health, which gives a cue that bromelain can induce osteogenic differentiation in MSCs. Objective: The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of curcumin and bromelain on osteogenic differentiation of human gingiva derived mesenchymal stem cells (HGMSCs) and to compare their differentiation potential to dexamethasone. Methodology: Stem cells were isolated from human gingival tissue samples. Surface markers were detected using flow cytometry. Guided osteogenic differentiation assay was conducted to confirm mineralization. The effects of curcumin and bromelain on HGMSCs proliferation on day1, 3 and 5 was examined using a MTT assay. Cells were treated with various concentrations of curcumin (2, 5 and 10µM) and bromelain (1, 2.5 and 5µg/ml) for two weeks and gene expression was investigated using quantitative PCR. Results: Our findings demonstrated that curcumin and bromelain induced osteogenic differentiation in a dose dependent manner. At 2.5µg/ml the peak up-regulation could be seen for genes Collagen, ALP, and OPG for bromelain treated cells. In curcumin the ideal concentration found was to 2µM. The maximum enhancement has been observed at 2µM for all genes. Conclusion: Cells treated with curcumin and bromelain induced the osteogenic differentiation, however, future in vivo studies need to be conducted to confirm findings.
| Date of Award | Jan 1 2018 |
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| Original language | English |
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| Supervisor | Umadevi Kandalam (Supervisor) |
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