Mesenchymal stem cells of dental origin as promising tools for neuroregeneration.

Gábor Varga,Gábor Gerber

doi:10.1186/scrt450

Abstract

The adult central nervous system has only a very limited ability to newly generate lost neurons and glial cells. Therefore, its self-renewal efficiency after degenerative damage or acute injuries is very limited. Mesenchymal stem cells of various tissue origins, including dental tissues, are among the most promising tools in stem cell therapeutic approaches. In a previous issue of Stem Cell Research & Therapy, Ellis and colleagues demonstrated the neuronal differentiation potential of murine dental pulp stem cells. Our commentary discusses the significance of the study, the parallel efforts of other laboratories, the present limitations of neuronal transdifferentiation using cells obtained by various available methods, and the possible breakthrough by combining the various cellular resources with pharmacological and tissue engineering methods.

Highlights

The adult central nervous system has only a very limited ability to newly generate lost neurons and glial cells
The authors demonstrated the neuronal differentiation of dental pulp stem cells (DPSCs) from murine incisors in vitro and provided evidence that these cells are organized in neuronal-like networks
Combined with the data of others in similar directions, it creates great hopes and high expectations that mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) of tooth origin may serve as cellular resources to renew damaged neuronal structures

Summary

Introduction

The adult central nervous system has only a very limited ability to newly generate lost neurons and glial cells. The present article is a commentary on original research by Ellis and colleagues [1], which appeared in a previous issue of Stem Cell Research & Therapy and which is of * Correspondence: varga.gabor@dent.semmelweis-univ.hu 1Department of Oral Biology, Semmelweis University, Nagyvárad tér 4, Budapest 1089, Hungary Full list of author information is available at the end of the article great interest in this perspective.

Results

Conclusion