Dental-derived mesenchymal stem cells (DMSCs) are feasible for a variety of clinical applications, according to a recent study published in the Frontiers in Cell and Developmental Biology.
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 the 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.
Considering the prominent osteogenic differentiation ability, DMSCs are widely used to repair bone defects in combination with different types of scaffolds. Recently, a research group evaluated the efficacy of bone regeneration by using pre-differentiated GMSCs together with a self-assembling hydrogel scaffold to repair the critical size maxillary alveolar bone defect in a rat model.
As is aforementioned, DMSCs are clonogenic cells and possess multiple differentiation potentials, which are conceived as a suitable cell source for dental tissue engineering and regeneration. Indeed, DMSCs are of profound significance in the regeneration of enamel, dentin, and pulp tissues.
Case definition of periodontal disease in epidemiological studies is a challenge (Peres et al., 2019), but is generally manifested with the loss of periodontal supporting tissues, including periodontal ligament, cementum, and alveolar bone. The ultimate goal of periodontal therapy is to achieve the regeneration of periodontal tissues.
Dental-derived mesenchymal stem cells are comprised of several distinct subpopulations, including, but not limited to, DPSCs, SHEDs, PDLSCs, DFSCs, SCAPs, and GMSCs, with multi-directional differentiation potentials as well as immunomodulatory functions. Besides, each subpopulation of DMSCs is not equivalent in terms of their biological properties. Hereby, to the best of our knowledge, we have thoroughly reviewed the multipotency of DMSCs, including odontogenic, cementogenic, osteogenic, chondrogenic, myogenic, neurogenic, angiogenic, hepatogenic, and adipogenic differentiation. However, we have noticed that numerous studies concerning the differentiation of DMSCs are conducted in vitro in the presence of different induction culture media, regardless of DMSCs' specific origin, natural environment, and real behaviours in vivo.
Thus, the researchers concluded that despite the possible discrepancy between the in vitro and in vivo differentiation potentials, DMSCs are bona fide multipotent stem cells and feasible for a variety of clinical applications, such as soft and hard tissue engineering, tooth regeneration, and treatment of degenerative diseases.
Reference:
Dental-Derived Mesenchymal Stem Cells: State of the Art by Bo Li, et al. published in the Frontiers in Cell and Developmental Biology.
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8258348/