Studies on microRNA regulation of multidirectional differentiation of dental pulp stem cells: a narrative review

Dental pulp stem cells (DPSCs) are adult stem cells of neural crest origin, are readily available, have good self-renewal and multidirectional differentiation properties, can differentiate into a variety of cells, are abundant, less harmful to donate, have no ethical issues, low immunogenicity, and therefore, are widely used as seed cells in the field of tissue engineering and regenerative medicine. MicroRNA (miRNA) is a single-stranded non-coding small RNA consisting of about 22 nucleotides, which plays an important regulatory role in various aspects of cellular activities, such as proliferation, differentiation, and apoptosis. In this paper, we review the regulatory role of small RNA in the differentiation of DPSCs and its mechanism in the past 5 years. This paper aims to reveal the important role of miRNAs in differentiation in DPSCs.

MicroRNAs (miRNAs), differentiation, and DPSCs were extensively searched in three databases from 2014 to 2021. These databases include PubMed, Cochrane Library, Embase.

Our study reviews the microRNAs (miR-145, miR-143-3p, miR-140-5p, miR-488, miR-218, miR-125a-3p, miR-27a-5p, miR-223, miR-21, miR-143, miR-215, miR-219a-1-3p, miR-31, miR-496, miR-218, miR-24-3p, miR-146a-5p, miR-196a, miR-188-3p, miR-424, miR-378a, miR-135, miR-124) in the differentiation of DPSCs.

A large body of evidence supports the involvement of miRNAs in differentiation associated with mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs), although the mechanisms involved are not yet clear. Most of the current studies are from in vitro studies, but the ultimate goal is to apply these studies to the clinic, and studies involving in vivo models are needed.