title: Mesenchymal dental stem cells for tissue regeneration.
abstract: Two types of dentition are generated in a human's lifetime: the primary dentition, followed by the permanent dentition. Undoubtedly, teeth are essential for speech and mastication in both dentitions, but it is becoming apparent that dental pulp also plays a role in harboring mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs). To date, three kinds of MSCs derived from dental pulp have been established: permanent tooth, primary tooth, and immature apical papilla. The dental pulp from primary teeth is considered a particularly good source of MSCs; it can be obtained from extracted primary teeth, of which humans have 20. The past decade has seen many reports of dental pulp-derived MSCs, and the field is becoming increasingly popular. The present article describes the characterization of dental pulp-derived MSCs from primary teeth. It also discusses future banking activity of primary teeth, because it is known that dental pulp-derived MSCs have similar potential to those derived from bone marrow. Methods with which to optimize the cryopreservation process should therefore be investigated, because banked dental pulp may provide a great resource in future regenerative medicine.
authors.forename: Masaki J
authors.initials: MJ
authors.lastname: Honda
authors.forename: Eri
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Watanabe
authors.forename: Yoshikazu
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Mikami
authors.forename: Yoko
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Saito
authors.forename: Taku
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Toriumi
authors.forename: Tetsuo
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Shirakawa
authors.forename: Noriyoshi
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Shimizu
authors.forename: Nobukazu
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Watanabe
authors.forename: Keitaro
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Isokawa
mesh_terms: D003782:Dental Pulp / Q000166:cytology*; D019229:Dentition, Permanent; D006801:Humans; D059630:Mesenchymal Stem Cells / Q000166:cytology*; D012038:Regeneration; D014015:Tissue Banks; D014021:Tissue Preservation; D014094:Tooth, Deciduous / Q000166:cytology