Human dental mesenchymal stem cells and neural regeneration

Nerve tissue presents inherent difficulties for its effective regeneration. Stem cell transplantation is considered an auspicious treatment for neuronal injuries. Recently, human dental mesenchymal stem cells (DMSCs) have received extensive attention in the field of regenerative medicine due to their accessibility and multipotency. Since their origin is within the neural crest, they can be differentiated into neural crest-derived cells including neuron and glia cells both in vitro and in vivo. DMSCs are also able to secrete a wide variety of neurotrophins and chemokines, which promote neuronal cells to survival and differentiation. Experimental evidence has shown that human DMSCs engraftment recovered neuronal tissue damage in animal models of central nervous system injuries. Human DMSCs can be a new hope for treatment of nervous system diseases and deficits such as spinal cord injury, stroke and Parkinson's disease.