Fig. 2
Healing of periodontal defects mediated by hDPSCs. a–c Intraoral photographs indicated that, 12 weeks after transplantation, marked periodontal soft tissue formation was found in the hDPSC injection group (the injection was performed without flap elevation), but could not restore soft tissues to healthy levels (a) (yellow dotted line). Periodontal soft tissue healing mediated by the hDPSC sheet (b) was close to the normal tissue level (yellow dotted line). Only limited periodontal soft tissues were recoverd in the control group (c) (yellow dotted line). d–f Three-dimensional CT images revealed marked bone formation in the hDPSC injection group (d), hDPSCs sheet group (e) after cell transplantation, and limited bone regeneration in the control group (f) (red dotted lines). g The bone regeneration volumes were larger in the hDPSC sheet group and hDPSC injection group compared with the control group (*P < 0.05). The bone regeneration volume was larger in the hDPSC sheet group than the hDPSC injection group (△ P < 0.05). h Genomic DNA was extracted from periodontal soft tissue and alveolar bone in the bone defect at 12 weeks after hDPSC implantation. Quantitative PCR was used to detect the human β-globin gene, and the results were normalized to the miniature pig receptor-associated protein at the synapse (RAPSYN) gene. Results are shown as means ± SD. *P < 0.05, versus control group. Statistical significance was evaluated by analysis of variance. All error bars represent SD (n = 5). hDPSC human dental pulp stem cell, M Mesial, W weeks