title: Isolation and characterization of dental pulp stem cells from a supernumerary tooth.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Dental pulp stem cells (DPSCs) were primarily derived from the pulp tissues of primary incisors and permanent third molar teeth, whereas no report to our knowledge has yet been documented on deriving DPSCs from the other tooth types. The aim of this study is to present a novel approach of harvesting stem cells from a supernumerary tooth (a mesiodens).
  
  
  METHODS
  The pulp tissues from a mesiodens of a 20-year-old healthy male patient and the left lower deciduous canine of a healthy 10-year-old boy (the positive control) were extracted and cultured for DPSCs, which were examined with stem cells (Oct-4, Nanog and Rex-1) and differentiation (Osteonectin and Nestin) markers. Furthermore, DPSCs were directionally differentiated to osteogenic and adipogenic cell lineages.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Dental pulp stem cells derived from the mesiodens were capable of differentiating into adipogenic and osteogenic lineages. The mesioden's DPSCs also expressed stem cell and differentiation markers, which suggested their stem cell origin and differentiation capability. All the aforementioned results for the mesiodens were consistent with those of the DPSCs derived from the positive control.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  We have demonstrated the feasibility of deriving DPSCs from a usually discarded tissue such as a supernumerary tooth.
authors.affiliation: Grace Dental Clinic, School of Dentistry, Kaosiung Medical University Hospital, Kaohsiung Medical University, Kaohsiung, Taiwan. andersonh@seed.net.tw
authors.forename: Anderson Hsien-Cheng
authors.initials: AH
authors.lastname: Huang
authors.forename: Yuk-Kwan
authors.initials: YK
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.forename: Lin-Min
authors.initials: LM
authors.lastname: Lin
authors.forename: Tien-Yue
authors.initials: TY
authors.lastname: Shieh
authors.forename: Anthony Wing-Sang
authors.initials: AW
authors.lastname: Chan
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D053687:Adult Stem Cells / Q000166:cytology*; D018929:Cell Culture Techniques / Q000379:methods*; D002454:Cell Differentiation; D002478:Cells, Cultured; D003782:Dental Pulp / Q000166:cytology*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D014096:Tooth, Supernumerary