Comparative Analysis of Stemness and Differentiation Gene Expression in Mesenchymal Stem Cells from Permanent and Deciduous Teeth: An In Vitro Study to Evaluate Implications for Regenerative Dentistry

Dental pulp is a valuable source of mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs), offering significant promise for cell therapy and regenerative medicine, particularly in treating oral and dental conditions. For clinical translation, understanding which dental stem cell source provides superior proliferative and differentiation capacity for specific tissue regeneration (bone vs. dentin) is essential. This study aimed to compare the gene expression profiles and osteogenic potential of MSCs derived from permanent (DPSCs) and deciduous (SHED) teeth. DPSCs and SHED were isolated and characterized using flow cytometry. Their differentiation potential into bone and fat cells was assessed, along with colony formation, doubling time (DT), cell viability, alkaline phosphatase (ALP) activity, and the expression of stemness genes (SOX2, OCT4, NANOG) and differentiation genes (OCN, DSPP, AMBN, SPARC, IBSP). SHEDs showed higher colony formation (33.66 vs. 28.33) and shorter doubling time (33.13 h vs. 39.25 h) compared to DPSCs. Importantly, SHEDs exhibited significantly higher ALP activity after osteogenic induction, confirming their superior early osteogenic differentiation potential. SHEDs also expressed stemness genes (OCT4, NANOG, SOX2) and osteogenic markers (AMBN, OCN) at higher levels, while DPSCs showed higher expression of odontogenic markers (DSPP, SPARC, IBSP). Overall, SHEDs in this study showed greater proliferative capacity, faster doubling times, and enhanced early osteogenic potential compared to DPSCs, whereas DPSCs showed stronger odontogenic differentiation potential. These findings suggest that SHEDs may be more suitable for bone and enamel-like tissue regeneration, while DPSCs are better suited for dentin-pulp complex repair, providing a rationale for stem cell selection in regenerative dentistry.