Advances in tooth regeneration

Two studies could help advance the field of regenerative dental medicine, according to a report from Medical Xpress.

In the studies, researchers identified two stem cell lineages responsible for the development of tooth roots and alveolar bone. The first study, published in Nature Communications, involved the use of in vivo lineage-tracing approaches, microscopy, fluorescent cellular tags and gene silencing to examine the role of mesenchymal stem cells in tooth root formation in a population of genetically modified mice. The researchers found that this stem cell type was associated with tooth root development, originated from CXCL12-expressing apical papilla cells and provided a source of dentin-forming odontoblasts and cementum-forming cementoblasts.

In the second study, also published in Nature Communications, the investigators analyzed stem cells that were associated with alveolar bone formation. These cells originated from PTHrP-expressing dental follicle cells and differentiated into alveolar bone-forming osteoblasts only during the suppression of the Hedgehog-Foxf pathway.

The findings highlighted that better understanding the mechanisms driving tooth and alveolar bone development could lead to advances in regenerative dental therapies.

Read more: Medical Xpress

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