Editorial
Copyright ©The Author(s) 2024. Published by Baishideng Publishing Group Inc. All rights reserved.
World J Stem Cells. Feb 26, 2024; 16(2): 54-57
Published online Feb 26, 2024. doi: 10.4252/wjsc.v16.i2.54
Human dental pulp stem/stromal cells in clinical practice
Mohammed E Grawish
Mohammed E Grawish, Department of Oral Biology, Faculty of Dentistry, Mansoura University, Mansoura 35561, Egypt
Mohammed E Grawish, Department of Oral Biology, Faculty of Oral and Dental Medicine, Delta University for Science and Technology, Mansoura 11152, Egypt
Author contributions: Grawish ME designed, analyzed, and wrote the manuscript.
Conflict-of-interest statement: The author reports no relevant conflicts of interest for this article.
Open-Access: This article is an open-access article that was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution NonCommercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: https://creativecommons.org/Licenses/by-nc/4.0/
Corresponding author: Mohammed E Grawish, PhD, Professor, Department of Oral Biology, Faculty of Dentistry, Mansoura University, Dakahlia Governorate, Mansoura 35561, Egypt. grawish2005@yahoo.com
Received: October 16, 2023
Peer-review started: October 16, 2023
First decision: December 5, 2023
Revised: December 28, 2023
Accepted: January 30, 2024
Article in press: January 30, 2024
Published online: February 26, 2024
Processing time: 132 Days and 19.3 Hours
Abstract

Dental pulp stem/stromal cells (DPSCs) are fibroblast-like, neural crest-derived, and multipotent cells that can differentiate into several lineages. They are relatively easy to isolate from healthy and inflamed pulps, with little ethical concerns and can be successfully cryopreserved and thawed. The therapeutic effects of DPSCs derived from animal or human sources have been extensively studied through in-vitro and in-vivo animal experiments and the findings indicated that DPSCs are effective not only for dental diseases but also for systemic diseases. Understanding that translational research is a critical step through which the fundamental scientific discoveries could be translated into applicable diagnostics and therapeutics that directly benefit humans, several clinical studies were carried out to generate evidence for the efficacy and safety of autogenous or allogeneic human DPSCs (hDPSCs) as a treatment modality for use in cell-based therapy, regenerative medicine/dentistry and tissue engineering. In clinical medicine, hDPSCs were effective for treating acute ischemic stroke and human exfoliated deciduous teeth-conditioned medium (SHED-CM) repaired vascular damage of the corpus cavernous, which is the main cause of erectile dysfunction. Whereas in clinical dentistry, autologous SHED was able to regenerate necrotic dental pulp after implantation into injured teeth, and micrografts enriched with autologous hDPSCs and collagen sponge were considered a treatment option for human intrabony defects. In contrast, hDPSCs did not add a significant regenerative effect when they were used for the treatment of post-extraction sockets. Large-scale clinical studies across diverse populations are still lacking to provide robust evidence on the safety and efficacy of hDPSCs as a new treatment option for various human diseases including dental-related problems.

Keywords: Dental pulp stem/stromal cells, Human clinical studies, Regenerative medicine, Regenerative dentistry, Cell-based therapy

Core Tip: The need for new alternative therapeutic strategies is of paramount importance to improve the cure rate and quality of patients’ lives. Human dental pulp stem/stromal cells and human exfoliated deciduous teeth are promising candidates for regenerative medicine and dentistry as they have been used clinically to treat acute ischemic stroke, erectile dysfunction, traumatized teeth with necrotic pulps, and intrabony defects.