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Updated: Jan 19, 2026

Author Spotlight: Advancing Vision Restoration - Stem Cell-Based Therapy for Retinal Diseases
Published on: October 6, 2023
Treatment with Stem Cells from Human Exfoliated Deciduous Teeth and Their Derived Conditioned Medium Improves Retinal
Xiao-Xia Li1, Xiao-Jing Yuan1, Yue Zhai1
1Department of Pediatric Dentistry, Peking University School and Hospital of Stomatology, National Engineering Laboratory for Digital and Material Technology of Stomatology, and Beijing Key Laboratory of Digital Stomatology, Beijing, China.
Abstract:
Retinitis pigmentosa (RP) is a hereditary disease characterized by degeneration and the loss of photoreceptors. Stem cell-based therapy has emerged as a promising strategy for treating RP. Stem cells from exfoliated deciduous teeth (SHEDs), a type of mesenchymal stem cell from human exfoliated deciduous teeth, have the potential to differentiate into photoreceptor-like cells under specific induction in vitro. It has been confirmed that through paracrine secreta, SHEDs exert neurotrophic, angiogenic, immunoregulatory, and antiapoptotic functions in injured tissues. This study was designed to determine whether retinal-differentiated SHEDs and the conditioned medium derived from SHEDs (SHEDs-CM) have therapeutic effects in a mouse model of RP. The results showed that both SHEDs and SHEDs-CM improved electroretinogram responses, ameliorated photoreceptor degeneration, and maintained the structure of the outer segments of photoreceptors. The therapeutic effects were related to antiapoptotic activity of SHEDs and SHEDs-CM. Thus, SHEDs may be a promising stem cell source for treating retinal degeneration.
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