Among the various sources of human autologous stem cells, stem cells isolated from dental tissues exhibit excellent properties in tissue engineering and regenerative medicine. However, the distinct potential of these odontogenic cell lines remains unclear. In this study, we analyzed DNA methylation patterns to determine whether specific differences existed among three different odontogenic cell types. Using the HumanMethylation450 Beadchip, the whole genomes of human dental pulp stem cells (DPSCs), periodontal ligament stem cells (PDLSCs), and dental follicle progenitor cells (DFPCs) were compared. Then, the osteogenic potential of these cells was evaluated both in vitro and in vivo, and the methylation levels of certain genes related to bone formation differed among the three cell lines. P values less than 0.05 were considered to indicate statistical significance. The three cell types showed highly similar DNA methylation patterns, although specific differences were identified. Gene ontology analysis revealed that one of the most significantly different gene categories was related to bone formation. Thus, expression of cell surface epitopes and osteogenic-related transcription factors as well as the bone formation capacity were compared. The results showed that compared with DFPCs and DPSCs, PDLSCs had higher transcription levels of osteogenic-related factors, a higher in vitro osteogenic potential, and an increased new bone formation capacity in vivo. In conclusion, the results of this study suggested that the differential DNA methylation profiles could be related to the osteogenic potential of these human odontogenic cell populations. Additionally, the increased osteogenic potential of PDLSCs might aid researchers or clinicians in making better choices regarding tissue regeneration and clinical therapies.

在人类自体干细胞的各种来源中，从牙齿组织分离的干细胞在组织工程和再生医学中显示出优异的性能。然而，这些牙源性细胞系的独特潜力仍不清楚。在这项研究中，我们分析了DNA甲基化模式，以确定在三种不同的成牙细胞类型之间是否存在特定差异。使用HumanMethylation450 Beadchip，比较了人类牙髓干细胞（DPSC），牙周膜干细胞（PDLSC）和牙囊祖细胞（DFPC）的整个基因组。然后，在体外和体内评估了这些细胞的成骨潜能，并且在三种细胞系中，与骨骼形成有关的某些基因的甲基化水平也有所不同。P小于0.05的值被认为指示统计学意义。三种细胞类型显示出高度相似的DNA甲基化模式，尽管已发现特定的差异。基因本体分析表明，最显着不同的基因类别之一与骨形成有关。因此，比较了细胞表面表位和成骨相关转录因子的表达以及骨形成能力。结果表明，与DFPCs和DPSCs相比，PDLSCs具有更高的成骨相关因子转录水平，更高的体外成骨潜能以及更高的体内新骨形成能力。综上所述，这项研究的结果表明，不同的DNA甲基化谱可能与这些人牙源性细胞群的成骨潜能有关。此外，PDLSCs成骨潜能的增加可能有助于研究人员或临床医生在组织再生和临床治疗方面做出更好的选择。