Dental stem cells--characteristics and potential.

Soft dental tissues have been identified as easily accessible sources of multipotent postnatal stem cells. Dental stem cells are mesenchymal stem cells (MSC) capable of differentiating into at least three distinct cell lineages: osteo/odontogenic, adipogenic and neurogenic. They express various markers including those specific for MSC, embryonic stem cells and neural cells. Five different types of dental stem cells have been isolated from mature and immature teeth: dental pulp stem cells, stem cells from exfoliated deciduous teeth, periodontal ligament stem cells, stem cells from apical papilla and dental follicle progenitor cells. Dental stem cells may be used in dental tissue engineering including dental, enamel and periodontal tissue regeneration. They could also be used as a promising tool in potential treatment of neurodegenerative, ischemic and immune diseases.