Stem cells from human exfoliated deciduous teeth (SHED) enhance wound healing and the possibility of novel cell therapy

Background aims. In recent years, stem cells from human exfoliated deciduous teeth (SHED) have received attention as a novel stem cell source with multipotent potential. We examined the effect on wound-healing promotion with unique stem cells from deciduous teeth as a medical waste. Methods. An excisional wound-splinting mouse model was used and the effect of wound healing among SHED, human mesenchymal stromal cells (hMSCs), human fibroblasts (hFibro) and a control (phosphate-buffered saline; PBS) was evaluated by macroscopy, histology and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA), and the expression of hyaluronan (HA), which is related to wound healing, investigated. Results. SHED and hMSCs accelerated wound healing compared with hFibro and the control. There was a statistically significant difference in wound healing area among hFibro, hMSCs and SHED compared with the control after day 5. At days 7 and 14 after cell transplantation, the histologic observation showed that transplanted PKH26-positive cells were surrounded by human HA binding protein, especially in hMSCs and SHED. HA expression volume values were 1558.41 +/- 60.33 (control), 2092.75 +/- 42.56 (hFibro), 2342.07 +/- 188.10 (hMSCs) and 2314.85 +/- 164.91 (SHED) ng/mg, respectively, and significantly higher in hMSCs and SHED compared with hFibro and control at days 7 and 14 (P < 0.05). Conclusions. Our results show that SHED hMSCs have similar effects of wound-healing promotion as hFibro and controls. This implies that SHED might offer a unique stem cell resource and the possibility of novel cell therapies for wound healing in the future.