Injectable Highly Tunable Oligomeric Collagen Matrices for Dental Tissue Regeneration

Current stem cell transplantation approaches lack efficacy because they limit cell survival and retention, and more importantly lack a suitable cellular niche to modulate lineage-specific differentiation. Here, we evaluate the intrinsic ability of type I oligomeric collagen matrices to modulate dental pulp stem cells (DPSCs) endothelial and odontogenic differentiation as a potential stem cell-based therapy for regenerative endodontics. DPSCs were encapsulated in low (235Pa) and high (800Pa) stiffness oligomeric collagen matrices and then evaluated for long-term cell survival, as well as, endothelial and odontogenic differentiation following in vitro cell culture. Moreover, the effect of growth factor incorporation, i.e., vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) into 235Pa oligomeric collagen or bone morphogenetic protein (BMP2) into the 800Pa oligomeric collagen counterpart on endothelial or odontogenic differentiation of encapsulated DPSCs was investigated. DPSCs-laden oligomeric collagen matrices allow...