Review
Copyright ©The Author(s) 2015. Published by Baishideng Publishing Group Inc. All rights reserved.
World J Stem Cells. Jun 26, 2015; 7(5): 839-851
Published online Jun 26, 2015. doi: 10.4252/wjsc.v7.i5.839
Human dental pulp stem cells: Applications in future regenerative medicine
Pravin D Potdar, Yogita D Jethmalani
Pravin D Potdar, Yogita D Jethmalani, Department of Molecular Medicine and Biology, Jaslok Hospital and Research Centre, Mumbai 400026, Maharashtra, India
Author contributions: Both authors contributed to this manuscript.
Supported by Jaslok Hospital and Research Centre, Mumbai, India, Project ni 491, A/C 27814.
Conflict-of-interest: No.
Open-Access: This article is an open-access article which was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution Non Commercial (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: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/
Correspondence to: Dr. Pravin D Potdar, MSc, PhD, DMLT, DHE, DMS, Head, Department of Molecular Medicine and Biology, Jaslok Hospital and Research Centre, 15 Dr. G Deshmukh Marg, Mumbai 400026, Maharashtra, India. ppotdar@jaslokhospital.net
Telephone: +91-22-66573445 Fax: +91-22-23520508
Received: October 24, 2014
Peer-review started: October 27, 2014
First decision: January 20, 2015
Revised: April 2, 2015
Accepted: April 16, 2015
Article in press: April 20, 2015
Published online: June 26, 2015
Processing time: 248 Days and 15.4 Hours
Abstract

Stem cells are pluripotent cells, having a property of differentiating into various types of cells of human body. Several studies have developed mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) from various human tissues, peripheral blood and body fluids. These cells are then characterized by cellular and molecular markers to understand their specific phenotypes. Dental pulp stem cells (DPSCs) are having a MSCs phenotype and they are differentiated into neuron, cardiomyocytes, chondrocytes, osteoblasts, liver cells and β cells of islet of pancreas. Thus, DPSCs have shown great potentiality to use in regenerative medicine for treatment of various human diseases including dental related problems. These cells can also be developed into induced pluripotent stem cells by incorporation of pluripotency markers and use for regenerative therapies of various diseases. The DPSCs are derived from various dental tissues such as human exfoliated deciduous teeth, apical papilla, periodontal ligament and dental follicle tissue. This review will overview the information about isolation, cellular and molecular characterization and differentiation of DPSCs into various types of human cells and thus these cells have important applications in regenerative therapies for various diseases. This review will be most useful for postgraduate dental students as well as scientists working in the field of oral pathology and oral medicine.

Keywords: Human dental pulp stem cells; Mesenchymal stem cells; Dentin; Pluripotency; Stem cell therapy; Molecular markers

Core tip: Human dental pulp stem cells (DPSCs) have shown a potentiality for the treatment of various human diseases including dental related problems. The review will overview the information about DPSCs, their isolation, cellular and molecular characterization, differentiation into various types of cells and their applications in regenerative therapies for various diseases. This review will be most useful for postgraduate dental students as well as the scientists working in the field of oral pathology, oral medicine and regenerative medicine.