Comparison of Osteogenic and Chondrogenic Differentiation Ability of Buccal Fat Pad Derived Mesenchymal Stem Cells and Gingival Derived Cells

Statement of the problem: one major goal of tissue engineering and regenerative medicine is to find an appropriate source of mesenchymal stem cells (mscs) with higher differentiation ability. purpose: in this experimental study, the osteogenic and chondrogenic differentiation ability of buccal fat pad derived mscs (bfp-mscs) with gingival derived cells(gdcs) were compared. materials and method: bfp-mscs and gdcs were cultured enzymatically and expanded. the expanded cells were analyzed for membrane-associated markers, using flow cytometry. then the ability of these cells to differentiate into osteocyte and chondrocyte was assessed morphologically and by mrna expression of collagen i (coll), bgla and bone morphogenetic protein 2 (bmp2) using qrt-pcr. results: flow cytometry analysis showed that both bfp-mscs and gdcs expressed the characteristic stem cell markers such as cd73, cd44, and cd90, whereas they did not express hematopoietic markers. mineralized calcium deposition was observed apparently in bfp-mscs cultured in osteogenic medium but gdcs showed fewer mineralized nodules. the mrna expression levels of bgla and bmp2 showed 7×10^5 and 733-fold more mrna expression in bfp-mscs treated with differentiation media compared to the control group. in chondrogenic differentiation, bfp-mscs transformed from a spindle to a cuboidal shape while gdcs showed only a slight transformation. in addition, mrna expression of coll showed 282- fold higher expression in bfp-mscs in comparison to the control group. such significant difference in mrna expression of bgla, bmp2, and coll was not observed in gdcs compared to their corresponding controls. conclusion: based on the present results, bfp yields a greater proportion of stem cells compared to gingiva. therefore, this tissue can be introduced as an easily available source for the treatment of periodontal defects and other maxillofacial injuries.