Effects of human vascular endothelial growth factor on reparative dentin formation

It is a challenge for dentists to save dental pulp in patients with pulp disease without resorting to root canal therapy. Formation of tertiary dentin to maintain pulp vitality is a key odontoblast response to dental pulp injury. Vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) is the most potent angiogenic and vasculogenic factor involved in tertiary dentin formation. It was hypothesized that VEGF may be used to treat pulp diseases such as pulpitis. To explore this hypothesis, the first step was to assess whether VEGF affects dental pulp cells to promote reparative dentin formation. In the current study, an AdCMV-hVEGF vector was constructed to deliver hVEGF into dental pulp cells of exfoliated deciduous teeth (hDPCs) in vitro and dental pulp cells in a rat model in vivo. The collected data clearly demonstrated that hVEGF increased alkaline phosphatase and mineralization by enzymatic activity. RT-qPCR data demonstrated that hVEGF significantly increased the expression levels of genes commonly involved in osteogenesis/odontogenesis. Data from the in vivo assays indicated that hVEGF enhanced pulp cell proliferation and neovascularization, and markedly increased formation of reparative dentin in dental pulp. The in vitro and in vivo data suggest that hVEGF may have potential clinical applications, thus may aid in the development of novel treatment strategies for dental pulpitis.