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Updated: Dec 12, 2025

Author Spotlight: Understanding Dynamic Cellular Behaviors in Adult Mouse Dental Tissue Renewal and Repairment
Published on: October 27, 2023
Runx2+ Niche Cells Maintain Incisor Mesenchymal Tissue Homeostasis through IGF Signaling
Shuo Chen1, Junjun Jing2, Yuan Yuan2
1Center for Craniofacial Molecular Biology, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA 90033, USA; Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, Peking University School and Hospital of Stomatology, Beijing 100081, China.
Abstract:
Stem cell niches provide a microenvironment to support the self-renewal and multi-lineage differentiation of stem cells. Cell-cell interactions within the niche are essential for maintaining tissue homeostasis. However, the niche cells supporting mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) are largely unknown. Using single-cell RNA sequencing, we show heterogeneity among Gli1+ MSCs and identify a subpopulation of Runx2+/Gli1+ cells in the adult mouse incisor. These Runx2+/Gli1+ cells are strategically located between MSCs and transit-amplifying cells (TACs). They are not stem cells but help to maintain the MSC niche via IGF signaling to regulate TAC proliferation, differentiation, and incisor growth rate. ATAC-seq and chromatin immunoprecipitation reveal that Runx2 directly binds to Igfbp3 in niche cells. This Runx2-mediated IGF signaling is crucial for regulating the MSC niche and maintaining tissue homeostasis to support continuous growth of the adult mouse incisor, providing a model for analysis of the molecular regulation of the MSC niche.
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