Evaluation of Chitosan Hydrogel for Sustained Delivery of VEGF for Odontogenic Differentiation of Dental Pulp Stem Cells

The pulpotomy with pulp capping is aimed at retaining vital pulp with reparative dentin formation. Vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) plays a crucial role in dentin regeneration; however, its constant administrations in the human body is still problematic. Chitosan was widely studied as an effective carrier to deliver bioactive molecules in regenerative medicine. In this study, we conducted a chitosan/beta-glycerophosphate (CS/beta-GP) hydrogel as a VEGF-sustained release system and explored its effects on dental pulp stem cells (DPSCs). CS/beta-GP hydrogel was manufactured using a sol-gel method. SEM assay showed the spongy and porous microstructure of the lyophilized hydrogels. DPSCs cultured in the CS/beta-GP hydrogel kept adhesion and vitality. CCK-8 assay tested the promoted proliferation activity of DPSCs on the hydrogel. Besides, the added VEGF protein could continually release from VEGF/CS/beta-GP hydrogel. The VEGF/CS/beta-GP hydrogel could promote the odontogenic differentiation of DPSCs better than VEGF treatment without hydrogel. Our results suggested that CS/beta-GP hydrogel could continually release VEGF and contribute to odontogenic differentiation of DPSCs, thus may become a potential carrier of bioactive molecules in pulp capping therapy.