Potential of dental pulp stem cells and their products in promoting peripheral nerve regeneration and their future applications

Figure 1 Advantages of dental pulp stem cells as alternative stem cells for nerve regeneration. The figure was created with BioRender.com. DPSCs: Dental pulp stem cells.

Figure 2 Ability of dental pulp stem cells to differentiate into other types of cells. Dental pulp stem cells derived from dental pulp exhibit both self-proliferation ability and the capability to differentiate into multiple lineages in vitro. A: Liver stem cell; B: Chondrocyte; C: Adipocyte; D: Endothelial cell; E: Muscle cell; F: Osteoblast; G: Neural cell; H: Islet cell. The figure was created with BioRender.com. DPSC: Dental pulp stem cell.

Figure 3 Treatment of peripheral nerve injury by cell/acellular therapies involving dental pulp stem cells. A: Dental pulp stem cells (DPSCs) can directly differentiate into nerve cells or endothelial cells and can also protect nerves and promote nerve regeneration through paracrine neurotrophic factors; B: DPSCs can treat peripheral nerve injury (PNI) by promoting vascular regeneration, axonal regeneration, and myelin sheath repair, regulating the immune response, and inhibiting inflammation; C: Exosomes, lysates, and conditioned media from DPSCs are also effective in treating PNI. The figure was created with BioRender.com. DPSC: Dental pulp stem cell; NGF: Nerve growth factor; BDNF: Brain-derived neurotrophic factor; GDNF: Glial cell-derived neurotrophic factor; NTF3: Neurotrophic factor 3.

Figure 4 Main models used to study the effect of dental pulp stem cells in treating peripheral nerve injury at present. A: Rats; B: Rabbits; C: Pigs. D: Diabetic neuropathy; E: Nerve demyelination injury; F: Dental pulp injury; G: Nerve defect injury; H: Nerve crush injury; I: Nerve cells cultured in vitro are used. DPSC: Dental pulp stem cell. The figure was created with BioRender.com.