dental stem cells

Wisdom teeth could hold regenerative medicine answers

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An interesting article titled “A single-cell atlas of human teeth” written by Pierfrancesco Pagella et al. appears in iScience (vol. 24, no. 102405, May 21, 2021). In the article the researchers analyzed five wisdom teeth that had been extracted to conduct a comprehensive single-cell atlas of the human tooth. The cells studied came from these five wisdom teeth and were extracted by dentists in Zurich. Isolating the cells from these wisdom teeth may have introduced variability between samples and some cells may not have survived the isolation process. Even so, the study found novel insights into how stem cells work which could help answer questions in regenerative medicine. In the study, the researchers at the University of Zurich and ETH Zurich used single-cell RNA sequencing to investigate cells present in dental pulp and the periodontium. The researchers compared patterns of … Read more

Dental Stem Cells Generate New Bone Tissue

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An interesting article presented in Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology News discusses dental stem cells and their role of creating new bone tissue in humans. This article is based off of the procedure and results in a recent paper titled “Human Mandible Bone Defect Repair by Grafting of Dental Pulp Stem/Progenitor Cells and Collagen Sponge Biocomplexes” which has been conducted by Gianpoalo Paccio and his partners in Naples, Italy. (Europen Cells and Materials Vol.18, 2009, pages 75-83). Seventeen patients had their wisdom teeth extracted and the dental pulp stem/progenitor cells known as DPCs were eventually used to fill the injury site left by the wisdom teeth that were removed. Three months later, the patients were examined by X-ray. The sites where the wisdom teeth were extracted and filled with the DPCs (along with a collagen sponge scaffold) showed complete regeneration of … Read more