Oral Cavity as a Source of Mesenchymal Stem Cells Useful for Regenerative Medicine in Dentistry

Abstract

The use of mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) for regenerative purposes has become common in a large variety of diseases. In the dental and maxillofacial field, there are emerging clinical needs that could benefit from MSC-based therapeutic approaches. Even though MSCs can be isolated from different tissues, such as bone marrow, adipose tissue, etc., and are known for their multilineage differentiation, their different anatomical origin can affect the capability to differentiate into a specific tissue. For instance, MSCs isolated from the oral cavity might be more effective than adipose-derived stem cells (ASCs) for the treatment of dental defects. Indeed, in the oral cavity, there are different sources of MSCs that have been individually proposed as promising candidates for tissue engineering protocols. The therapeutic strategy based on MSCs can be direct, by using cells as components of the tissue to be regenerated, or indirect, aimed at delivering local growth factors, cytokines, and chemokines produced by the MSCs. Here, the authors outline the major sources of mesenchymal stem cells attainable from the oral cavity and discuss their possible usage in some of the most compelling therapeutic frontiers, such as periodontal disease and dental pulp regeneration.

Biology, Preclinical and Clinical Uses of Mesenchymal Dental Pulp Stem Cells

“…MSCs (MSCs) have been isolated from dental tissues such as dental pulp (DPSCs), periodontal ligament (PDLSC), deciduous teeth (SHED), apical papilla (SCAP), follicles (DFSC), and gingiva (GMSC) [3,7,8].…”

Advances in oral mesenchymal stem cell-derived extracellular vesicles in health and disease

“… 5 Oral tissue MSCs (OMSCs) are a class of MSCs derived from oral tissues, including dental pulp stem cells (DPSCs), 6 stem cells from exfoliated deciduous teeth (SHEDs), 7 periodontal ligament stem cells (PDLSCs), 8 dental follicle progenitor cells (DFPCs), 9 stem cells from the apical papilla (SCAPs), 10 and gingival mesenchymal stem cells (GMSCs). 11 , 12 They are characterized by great self-renewal and multidirectional differentiation abilities, similar to those of all other tissue-derived MSCs. Of note, OMSCs have remarkable advantages, such as being widely available, easy to obtain, and minimally invasive, and thus have become one of the most promising therapeutic options for tissue regeneration and repair.…”

Exploring the Effects of Low-Level Laser Therapy on the Cytocompatibility and Osteo/Odontogenic Potential of Gingival-Derived Mesenchymal Stem Cells: Preliminary Report

“…Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) are critical components in the process of tissue engineering owing to their distinct characteristics [2,3]. MSCs from oral sources have been proven to contain the necessary attributes for tissue regeneration utilization [4][5][6][7][8][9]. Dental MSCs are a unique set of MSCs that can exceed the properties of bone marrow MSCs (BMMSCs), which are regarded as the predominant kind of MSCs exploited in tissue engineering [10][11][12].…”