title: Mesenchymal Stem Cells and Their Role in Dental Medicine.
abstract: Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) have been discovered in almost every organ and tissue. MSCs are a heterogeneous population of cells with the capacity to self-renew and show multilineage differentiation. MSCs possess immunomodulatory properties by regulating multiple types of immune cells. They are emerging as a promising therapeutic agent, and have been widely used for cell-based tissue regeneration and immune therapies. A further understanding of the biological characteristics of MSCs is a prerequisite to develop more efficient MSC-based therapies. This article reviews the current understanding of different MSC populations in orofacial tissue compared with those derived from bone marrow.
authors.affiliation: Department of Anatomy and Cell Biology, School of Dental Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, USA; Department of Operative Dentistry and Endodontics, Guanghua School of Stomatology, Affiliated Stomatological Hospital, Sun Yat-sen University, 55 West Lingyuan Rd, Yuexiu District, Guangzhou 510055, China.
authors.forename: Xueli
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Mao
authors.affiliation: Department of Anatomy and Cell Biology, School of Dental Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, USA; Department of Pediatric Dentistry, School of Stomatology, China Medical University, 117 South Nanjing Street, Heping District, Shenyang 110002, China.
authors.forename: Yao
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.affiliation: Department of Anatomy and Cell Biology, School of Dental Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, USA.
authors.forename: Chider
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.affiliation: Department of Anatomy and Cell Biology, School of Dental Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, USA. Electronic address: songtaos@dental.upenn.edu.
authors.forename: Songtao
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Shi
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D016557:Guided Tissue Regeneration, Periodontal / Q000379:methods; D006801:Humans; D045164:Mesenchymal Stem Cell Transplantation; D059630:Mesenchymal Stem Cells / Q000502:physiology
keywords: Cell therapy; Dental stem cell; Immunomodulation; Mesenchymal stem cells; Tissue regeneration