Elucidating the mechanisms underlying human pain sensation requires the establishment of an in vitro model of pain reception comprising human cells expressing pain-sensing receptors and function properly as neurons. Human dental pulp stem cells (hDPSCs) are mesenchymal stem cells and a promising candidate for producing human neuronal cells, however, the functional properties of differentiated hDPSCs have not yet been fully characterized. In this study, we demonstrated neuronal differentiation of hDPSCs via both their expression of neuronal marker proteins and their neuronal function examined using Ca2+ imaging. Moreover, to confirm the ability of nociception, Ca2+ responses in differentiated hDPSCs were compared to those of rat dorsal root ganglion (DRG) neurons. Those cells showed similar responses to glutamate, ATP and agonists of transient receptor potential (TRP) channels. Since TRP channels are implicated in nociception, differentiated hDPSCs provide a useful in vitro model of human peripheral neuron response to stimuli interpreted as pain.

中文翻译：

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分化的人类牙髓干细胞（hDPSCs）的外周神经元样特性。

要阐明人类疼痛感觉的潜在机制，需要建立一个疼痛接收的体外模型，该模型包含表达疼痛感应受体并正常发挥神经元功能的人类细胞。人类牙髓干细胞（hDPSCs）是间充质干细胞，是产生人类神经元细胞的有希望的候选者，但是，分化的hDPSCs的功能特性尚未得到充分表征。在这项研究中，我们通过hDPSCs的神经元标记蛋白表达和使用Ca2 +成像检查的神经元功能证明了hDPSCs的神经元分化。此外，为了确认伤害感受的能力，将分化的hDPSCs中的Ca2 +响应与大鼠背根神经节（DRG）神经元的响应进行了比较。这些细胞对谷氨酸的反应相似，ATP和瞬时受体电位（TRP）通道的激动剂。由于TRP通道与伤害感受有关，因此分化的hDPSCs提供了有用的体外模型，用于人类外周神经元对被解释为疼痛的刺激的反应。