Pluripotency of Dental Pulp Cells and Periodontal Ligament Cells Was Enhanced through Cell-Cell Communication via STAT3/Oct-4/Sox2 Signaling

Table 2

The cell cycle and apoptosis of DPCs and PDLCs with indirect coculture (; ).

Time point of culture	G0/G1 (%)	PI	Apoptosis
DPCs-indirect coculture 3 d
DPCs-control 3 d
DPCs-indirect coculture 5 d
DPCs-control 5 d
DPCs-indirect coculture 7 d
DPCs-control 7 d
PDLCs-indirect coculture 3 d
PDLCs-control 3 d
PDLCs-indirect coculture 5 d
PDLCs-control 5 d
PDLCs-indirect coculture 7 d
PDLCs-control 7 d

Significant upregulation of the cell percentage was observed in DPCs and PDLCs in the G0/G1 phase after 3 d and 5 d of coculture, with a corresponding decrease of cell apoptosis. The significant decrease of cell cycle in the G0/G1 phase was maintained in PDLCs at 7 d of indirect coculture ( and ). However, there is no statistical significance of cell cycle in the G0/G1 phase in DPCs and PDLCs after 7 days of indirect coculture (). DPCs-indirect coculture: DPCs located in lower chamber with PDLCs in upper chamber; DPCs-control: DPCs located in lower chamber without PDLCs; PDLCs-indirect coculture: PDLCs located in lower chamber with DPCs in upper chamber; PDLCs-control: PDLCs located in lower chamber without DPCs; PI: propidium iodinate (percentage of cells in phases); apoptosis: FITC+/PI- (early apoptotic) or FITC+/PI+ (late apoptotic).