MAGNETIC 3D BIO-PRINTING FOR DEVELOPING BIO-FUNCTIONAL SALIVARY GLAND EPITHELIAL TRANSPLANTS FROM HUMAN-DERIVED STEM CELLS AND THEIR SECRETOME

Abstract

Radiotherapy (RT), the preferred conventional therapy for head and neck cancers, can irreversibly damage the salivary gland (SG) secretory epithelia. This damage results in dry mouth (xerostomia), which severely impairs jaw function and escalates oral infections. Current therapeutical approaches for xerostomia are heavily dependent on the limited number of remaining SG secretory epithelia cells post-RT. In vivo transplantation of saliva-secreting three-dimensional tissue or/and cell-based secretome can be feasible strategies to regenerate/repair the damaged epithelia. The main goal of these studies was to develop oral stem cell-based and secretome-based strategies for SG in vitro modelling to ultimately regenerate the damaged SG. Human dental pulp stem cells (hDPSC) were selected since these are readily available from tooth oral ectoderm progenitors and are not tumorigenic. Finalized 3D tissue had an innervated and bio-functional secretory epithelia in vitro mimicking the normal SG. The alternative strategy using hDPSC secretome stimulated ex vivo SG repair post-RT.