Effects of Ocrelizumab on Dental Pulp Derived Mesenchymal Stem Cells

Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a chronic autoimmune central nervous system (CNS) disease characterized by inflammation, demyelination and axonal damage. The most important goal in MS treatment is to provide neuroregeneration. However, current treatments only work to slow the progression of MS. Ocrelizumab is a humanized anti-CD20 monoclonal antibody used in the treatment of MS. In this study, it was aimed to investigate the effects of Ocrelizumab on the proliferation and differentiation potential of dental pulp-derived stem cells (DP-SC). For this purpose, three different (1.5 µg/mL, 15 µg/mL and 150 µg/mL) doses of Ocrelizumab were added to the normal culture medium, and then proliferation analyzes at 24, 48 and 72 hours were performed with the WST-1 assay. Ocrelizumab treatment for 24 and 48 hours was observed to dose-dependently reduce the proliferation of stem cells. At 72 hours, the efficacy of the drug on proliferation was lost at low doses. Similarly, a dose-dependent decrease in the expression of stemness marker, Rex1, was detected. The expression of the adipogenic differentiation marker ADFP, osteogenic differentiation marker RUNX2, chondrogenic differentiation marker SOX9, and neurogenic differentiation marker TUBB3 were evaluated to determine the influence on the differentiation potential of stem cells under the drug effect. While RUNX2, SOX9 and TUBB3 expressions increased in a dose-dependent manner, there was a decrease in ADFP expression in parallel to the drug dose. According to the results of the study, ocrelizumab might have the potential to support the regenerative effects by supporting the differentiation of DP-SCs in osteogenic, chodrogenic and neurogenic.