StemCell Therapy

Abstract Objectives

Stem cells have the ability to rescue and/or repair injured tissue. In humans, it is possible to isolate different types of stem cells from the body. Among these, dental pulp stem cells (DPSCs) are relatively easily obtainable and exhibit high plasticity and multipotential capabilities. In particular they represent a gold standard for neural-crest-derived bone reconstruction in humans and can be used for the repair of body defects in low-risk autologous therapeutic strategies.

An electronic search was conducted on PubMed databases and supplemented with a manual study of relevant references.

All research described in this review highlight that DPSCs are mesenchymal stem cells that could be used in clinical applications. Unfortunately, very few clinical trials have been reported. Major obstacles imposed on researchers are hindering the translation of potentially effective therapies to the clinic. Both researchers and regulatory institutions need to develop a new approach to this problem, drawing up a new policy for good manufacturing practice (GMP) procedures. We strongly suggest that only general rules be standardized rather than everything. Importantly, this would not have an effect on the safety of patients, but may very well affect the results, which cannot be identical for all patients, due to physiological diversity in the biology of each patient. Alternatively, it would be important to study the role of specific molecules that recruit endogenous stem cells for tissue regeneration. In this way, the clinical use of stem cells could be successfully developed.

DPSCs are mesenchymal stem cells that differentiate into different tissues, maintain their characteristics after cryopreservation, differentiate into bone-like tissues when loaded on scaffolds in animal models, and regenerate bone in human grafts. In summary, all data reported up to now should encourage the development of clinical procedures using DPSCs.

The stem cell field represents an area of particular interest for scientific research. The results so far obtained give good expectations for the use of stem cells in clinical trials. New therapeutic strategies have been made possible thanks to great advancements in stem cell biology, with the aim of regenerating tissues injured by disease.1and2 Based on their ability to rescue and/or repair injured tissue and partially restore organ function, multiple types of stem/progenitor cells have been speculated. A primary goal is to identify how different tissues and organs can arise from undifferentiated stem cells.

Stemness is the capability of undifferentiated cells to undergo an indefinite number of replications (self-renewal) and give rise to specialized cells (differentiation). Therefore, stem cells differ from other types of cells in the body because they are capable of sustaining self-renewal, are unspecialized, and can give rise to differentiated cell types. Differentiation can be recognized by a change in the morphology of the cell and by the detection of tissue-specific proteins.3 Stem cells may remain quiescent (non-dividing) for long periods of time until they are activated by a physiological need for more cells to maintain tissues, by disease, or by tissue injury. Thus, the primary role of adult stem cells is to maintain and repair the tissue in which they are found. They are thought to reside in specific areas termed stem cell niches.4 Adult stem cells have been identified in many organs and tissues, including brain, bone marrow, peripheral blood, blood vessels, skeletal muscle, skin, teeth, heart, gut, liver, ovarian epithelium, and testis.5 Among these tissues, dental pulp is considered a rich source of mesenchymal stem cells suitable for tissue engineering applications and, for this reason, many studies are performed with the final aim of obtaining new bone.6, 7and8

Tissue engineering is a multidisciplinary field that combines biology, engineering, and clinical science in order to generate new tissues and organs. This science involves different steps, such as the identification of appropriate cells, the development of scaffolds, and the study of morphogenic signals required to induce cells to regenerate a tissue or organ.9 After having discussed the state of the art in the field of dental pulp stem cells research and their potential use in bone engineering, here we try to suggest how to overcome the problems limiting the translationability of research, with the aim of improving the health of patients.

Dental pulp, a soft connective tissue within the dental crown, is an interesting source of adult stem cells because of the large amount of cells present and the non invasiveness of the isolation methods compared to other adult tissue sources.8, 10and11 Dental pulp contains mesenchymal stem cells defined as dental pulp stem cells (DPSCs). DPSCs are obtained from human permanent and primary teeth, human wisdom teeth, human exfoliated deciduous teeth (SHEDs), and apical papilla.7, 12, 13and14 Moreover, DPSCs can be also isolated from supernumerary teeth, which are generally discarded.15 Other sources of dental stem cells are the periodontal ligament, which houses periodontal ligament stem cells (PDLSCs),16 and the dental follicle, which contains dental follicle progenitor cells (DFPCs).17and18 DPSCs have been isolated from different organisms, including humans, mouse, rat, sheep, chimpanzee, and pig.19, 21, 22and23

DPSCs differentiate into different kinds of cells and tissues24, 25, 26, 27and28 and their multipotency has been compared to those of bone marrow stem cells (BMSCs). It has been demonstrated that proliferation, availability, and cell number of DPSCs are greater than BMSCs.20

See more here:
Dental pulp stem cells: State of the art and suggestions ...

This entry was posted on August 4, 2016 at 9:36 am and is filed under Dental Stem Cells. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed. |