Neural Crest Stem Cells from Dental Tissues: A New Hope for Dental and Neural Regeneration

Tooth tissues are a rich source of neural crest-derived stem cells that can repair oral tissues. The nerve tissue regeneration demands intensive research on new sources of stem cells. Dental tissue EMSCs are good candidates for nerve tissue restoration. They are preserved in adult human individuals, and retain both high proliferation ability and a neural-like phenotype in vitro. This paper discusses tissue regeneration by cell therapy and points out some advantages that EMSCs provide for dental and neural regeneration. It reviews some of the latest research featuring experimental approaches and benefits of dental stem cell therapy.

• 1
  Dental EMSCs constitutively express neural-progenitor protein markers, even in basal culture conditions. This suggests that EMSCs may retain the intrinsic ability to redifferentiate to nerve cells.
• 2
  Dental EMSCs can be induced to acquire a neural-like morphology, which includes the appearance of very long cytoplasmic processes resembling dendrites and axons.
• 3
  Transplantation of dental EMSCs in experimental animals has shown that these exogenous cells can integrate and survive in the host neural tissue, adopting a neural phenotype according to their specific CNS or PNS location, and even promoting de novo neurogenesis.