الفهرس | Only 14 pages are availabe for public view |
Abstract Objectives: This study was designed to evaluate the possible capacity of of the anti-diabetic drug metformin on proliferation and osteogenic differentiation of dental pulp stem cells. Materials and Methods: The stem cells of human dental pulp (HDPSCs) were obtained from 5 impacted, caries-free third molars that were indicated for extraction from young and healthy persons. The cells were treated with 10, 30 and 100 μM of metformin for 1, 3 and 5 days in order to evaluate the drug capacity on proliferation and cell viability using the MTS assay. In addition, the osteogenic differentiation and mineralization of HDPSCs were tested with osteogenic medium for 7 days and concentrations of 10,30 and 100 μM of metformin using alizarin red based assay. The expression of osteogenic genes, including runt-related transcription factor 2 (RUNX2) and osteopontin (OPN) were tested. Results: The proliferation assay (MTS) revealed that there was a significant difference between all groups and between all time periods (P value <0.001) as well as an interaction between groups and time periods. Also, metformin at 100 μM had higher proliferative effect on HDPSCs for different periods. Moreover, at concentration of 100 μM metformin with osteogenic medium enhanced the osteogenic differentiation of HDPSCs and it was confirmed by the increase of the expression of osteogenic genes; RUNX2 and OPN in the presence of metformin. Conclusion: Based on the findings of the present study, it could be concluded that metformin which was tested in therapeutic concentrations enhanced the proliferation and viability of HDPSCs as well as improving the osteogenic differentiation and mineralization of HDPSCs. |