Secretome profiles of immortalized dental follicle cells using iTRAQ-based proteomic analysis

Secretomes produced by mesenchymal stromal cells (MSCs) were considered to be therapeutic potential. However, harvesting enough primary MSCs from tissue was time-consuming and costly, which impeded the application of MSCs secretomes. This study was to immortalize MSCs and compare the secretomes profile of immortalized and original MSCs. Human dental follicle cells (DFCs) were isolated and immortalized using pMPH86. The secretome profile of immortalized DFCs (iDFCs) was investigated and compared using iTRAQ labeling combined with mass spectrometry (MS) quantitative proteomics. The MS data was analyzed using ProteinPilotTM software, and then bioinformatic analysis of identified proteins was done. A total of 2092 secreted proteins were detected in conditioned media of iDFCs. Compared with primary DFCs, 253 differently expressed proteins were found in iDFCs secretome (142 up-regulated and 111 down-regulated). Intensive bioinformatic analysis revealed that the majority of secreted proteins were involved in cellular process, metabolic process, biological regulation, cellular component organization or biogenesis, immune system process, developmental process, response to stimulus and signaling. Proteomic profile of cell secretome wasn’t largely affected after immortalization converted by this piggyBac immortalization system. The secretome of iDFCs may be a good candidate of primary DFCs for regenerative medicine.