Evidence map›Paper›PMID 40462207›Full record

ArticleJournal of biological engineering2025

Harnessing cell size to separate genetically and functionally distinct dental pulp-derived mesenchymal stromal cell subpopulations.

Yiyue Jiang, Zheng Zhang, Kangkang Ren, Shujuan Zhou, Yang Qiao, Weilu Huang, Nanyang Zhang, Hanyan Xu, Xinping Xu, Bing Wen and 2 more

Abstract read
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Article in Journal of biological engineering, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 1 paper.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
1citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

1 citing paper in PubMed.

  1. Separation of Human P63Analytical chemistry · 2026
    Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

12 authors.

Yiyue JiangJiangxi Provincial Key Laboratory of Respiratory Diseases, Jiangxi Institute of Respiratory Disease, The Department of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine, The First Affiliated Hospital, Jiangxi Medical College, Nanchang University, Nanchang, Jiangxi, 330209, China.
Zheng ZhangJiangxi Provincial Key Laboratory of Respiratory Diseases, Jiangxi Institute of Respiratory Disease, The Department of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine, The First Affiliated Hospital, Jiangxi Medical College, Nanchang University, Nanchang, Jiangxi, 330209, China.
Kangkang RenJiangxi Provincial Key Laboratory of Respiratory Diseases, Jiangxi Institute of Respiratory Disease, The Department of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine, The First Affiliated Hospital, Jiangxi Medical College, Nanchang University, Nanchang, Jiangxi, 330209, China.
Shujuan ZhouJiangxi Provincial Key Laboratory of Respiratory Diseases, Jiangxi Institute of Respiratory Disease, The Department of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine, The First Affiliated Hospital, Jiangxi Medical College, Nanchang University, Nanchang, Jiangxi, 330209, China.
Yang QiaoJiangxi Provincial Key Laboratory of Respiratory Diseases, Jiangxi Institute of Respiratory Disease, The Department of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine, The First Affiliated Hospital, Jiangxi Medical College, Nanchang University, Nanchang, Jiangxi, 330209, China.
Weilu HuangJiangxi Provincial Key Laboratory of Respiratory Diseases, Jiangxi Institute of Respiratory Disease, The Department of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine, The First Affiliated Hospital, Jiangxi Medical College, Nanchang University, Nanchang, Jiangxi, 330209, China.
Nanyang ZhangJiangxi Provincial Key Laboratory of Respiratory Diseases, Jiangxi Institute of Respiratory Disease, The Department of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine, The First Affiliated Hospital, Jiangxi Medical College, Nanchang University, Nanchang, Jiangxi, 330209, China.
Hanyan XuJiangxi Provincial Key Laboratory of Respiratory Diseases, Jiangxi Institute of Respiratory Disease, The Department of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine, The First Affiliated Hospital, Jiangxi Medical College, Nanchang University, Nanchang, Jiangxi, 330209, China.
Xinping XuJiangxi Provincial Key Laboratory of Respiratory Diseases, Jiangxi Institute of Respiratory Disease, The Department of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine, The First Affiliated Hospital, Jiangxi Medical College, Nanchang University, Nanchang, Jiangxi, 330209, China.
Bing WenDepartment of Stomatology, The First Affiliated Hospital, Jiangxi Medical College, Nanchang University, Nanchang, Jiangxi, 330209, China. wenbing69@163.com.
Wei ZhangJiangxi Provincial Key Laboratory of Respiratory Diseases, Jiangxi Institute of Respiratory Disease, The Department of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine, The First Affiliated Hospital, Jiangxi Medical College, Nanchang University, Nanchang, Jiangxi, 330209, China. zhangweiliuxin@163.com.
Lu YinJiangxi Provincial Key Laboratory of Respiratory Diseases, Jiangxi Institute of Respiratory Disease, The Department of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine, The First Affiliated Hospital, Jiangxi Medical College, Nanchang University, Nanchang, Jiangxi, 330209, China. yinlu@ncu.edu.cn.

Funding

Li Ka Shing Foundation 1210669001National Natural Science Foundation of China 32350610250Two-thousand Talent program of Jiangxi Province, China jxsq2020101064
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundDental pulp-derived mesenchymal stromal cells (DPMSCs) represent a promising avenue for regenerative medicine. However, the therapeutic potency of DPMSCs is substantially influenced by their functional heterogeneity emerging during ex vivo expansion. Therefore, identifying and selecting the most potent subpopulation of DPMSCs following expansion is key to improving therapeutic efficacy and consistency. Nevertheless, conventional methods for isolating stem cell subpopulations are largely impractical for clinical-scale bioprocessing, primarily due to their high cost and limited throughput. Recent research has unveiled a strong correlation between the biophysical characteristics of culture-expanded stem cells and their functional attributes, thereby raising the prospect of employing high-throughput, cost-effective biophysical sorting techniques to isolate functionally distinct subpopulations.

methodsA high-throughput microfluidic chip was implemented to perform label-free separation of culture-expanded DPMSC subpopulations based on their varying cell sizes, utilizing the principle of Dean flow fractionation.

resultsLeveraging this microfluidic technology, culture-expanded DPMSCs, isolated from the third molar teeth of adult donors, were fractionated into four subpopulations, each distinguished by distinct average cell diameters ranging from 14.3 to 20.5 μm. The medium-sized subpopulations (15.2 to 18.6 μm) demonstrated the highest colony-forming efficiency. In contrast, the large-sized subpopulation (18.6 to 20.5 μm) showed enhanced osteogenic and chondrogenic potencies in vitro, alongside superior abilities to suppress T cell proliferation and reverse macrophage M1 polarization in different co-culture settings. Furthermore, transcriptomic analysis revealed a progressively shifting gene expression profile with the change in DPMSC size. The large- and medium-sized subpopulation upregulates genes involved in immune responses, calcium signaling, and ECM-receptor interaction, while the small-sized subpopulation downregulates genes associated with immune response pathways, cell cycle, and growth factor activities.

conclusionThis study elucidates the morphological relevance of the functional heterogeneity of culture-expanded DPMSCs and proposes a viable strategy for the isolation of functional subpopulations of DPMSCs in clinical-scale manufacturing.

Indexed as

Cell sizeClonogenicityDental pulp-derived mesenchymal stromal cellDifferentiationHigh-throughputImmunomodulationLabel-freeMicrofluidic sorting

Identifiers

PMID40462207
PMCPMC12135596

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Registered trials

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.