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Conserved odontogenic potential in embryonic dental tissues
1Fujian Key Laboratory of Developmental and Neuro Biology, College of Life Science, Fujian Normal University, Fuzhou, Fujian, 350108, P.R. China.
Journal of Dental Research
|February 21, 2014
Summary
Human embryonic dental tissues possess tooth-inductive capability, similar to mice. Early dental epithelium and later mesenchyme drive tooth formation, but postnatal stem cells do not.
Area of Science:
- Developmental Biology
- Stem Cell Biology
- Regenerative Medicine
Background:
- Classic studies showed mouse tooth development involves a shift in odontogenic potential from epithelium to mesenchyme.
- The odontogenic potential of human embryonic dental tissues has not been previously investigated.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate if human embryonic dental tissues possess tooth-inductive capability similar to mouse tissues.
- To determine the odontogenic potential of postnatal human dental stem cells.
Main Methods:
- Tissue recombination experiments using human embryonic dental epithelium and mesenchyme at different developmental stages (cap and bell).
- Confrontation assays with mouse embryonic second-arch epithelium and human keratinocyte stem cells.
- Assessment of odontogenic potential in human dental pulp stem cells (DPSCs) and stem cells from human exfoliated deciduous teeth (SHED).
Main Results:
- Human dental epithelium from the cap stage induced tooth formation with embryonic lip mesenchyme.
- Human dental mesenchyme from the bell stage induced differentiation of mouse epithelium and human keratinocytes into ameloblasts.
- Neither DPSCs nor SHED exhibited odontogenic potential.
Conclusions:
- Human embryonic dental tissues exhibit conserved odontogenic potential compared to mouse tissues during early development.
- This finding has implications for developing bioengineered human replacement teeth using stem cells.
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