Dental-Derived Mesenchymal Stem Cells: State of the Art

Bo Li; Takehito Ouchi; Yubin Cao; Zhihe Zhao; Yi Men

doi:10.3389/fcell.2021.654559

Dental-Derived Mesenchymal Stem Cells: State of the Art

Front Cell Dev Biol. 2021 Jun 22:9:654559. doi: 10.3389/fcell.2021.654559. eCollection 2021.

Authors

Bo Li^{1

2

3}, Takehito Ouchi^{4

5}, Yubin Cao^{1

2

6}, Zhihe Zhao^{1

2

3}, Yi Men^{1

2

6}

Affiliations

¹ State Key Laboratory of Oral Diseases, West China School of Stomatology, Sichuan University, Chengdu, China.
² National Clinical Research Center for Oral Diseases, West China School of Stomatology, Sichuan University, Chengdu, China.
³ Department of Orthodontics, West China School of Stomatology, Sichuan University, Chengdu, China.
⁴ Department of Dentistry and Oral Surgery, School of Medicine, Keio University, Tokyo, Japan.
⁵ Department of Physiology, Tokyo Dental College, Tokyo, Japan.
⁶ Department of Head and Neck Oncology, West China School of Stomatology, Sichuan University, Chengdu, China.

Abstract

Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) could be identified in mammalian teeth. Currently, dental-derived MSCs (DMSCs) has become a collective term for all the MSCs isolated from dental pulp, periodontal ligament, dental follicle, apical papilla, and even gingiva. These DMSCs possess similar multipotent potential as bone marrow-derived MSCs, including differentiation into cells that have the characteristics of odontoblasts, cementoblasts, osteoblasts, chondrocytes, myocytes, epithelial cells, neural cells, hepatocytes, and adipocytes. Besides, DMSCs also have powerful immunomodulatory functions, which enable them to orchestrate the surrounding immune microenvironment. These properties enable DMSCs to have a promising approach in injury repair, tissue regeneration, and treatment of various diseases. This review outlines the most recent advances in DMSCs' functions and applications and enlightens how these advances are paving the path for DMSC-based therapies.

Keywords: bone defect reconstruction; immune modulation; mesenchymal stem cells; tissue engineering; tooth regeneration.

Publication types

Review