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Review
. 2017 Oct 1;26(R2):R166-R171.
doi: 10.1093/hmg/ddx208.

Dental pulp stem cells for the study of neurogenetic disorders

A Kaitlyn Victor  1   2 , Lawrence T Reiter  2   3   4
Affiliations
Review

Dental pulp stem cells for the study of neurogenetic disorders

A Kaitlyn Victor et al. Hum Mol Genet. .

Abstract

Dental pulp stem cells (DPSC) are a relatively new alternative stem cell source for the study of neurogenetic disorders. DPSC can be obtained non-invasively and collected from long-distances remaining viable during transportation. These highly proliferative cells express stem cell markers and retain the ability to differentiate down multiple cell lineages including chondrocytes, adipocytes, osteoblasts, and multiple neuronal cell types. The neural crest origin of DPSC makes them a useful source of primary cells for modeling neurological disorders at the molecular level. In this brief review, we will discuss recent developments in DPSC research that highlight the molecular etiology of DPSC derived neurons and how they may contribute to our understanding of neurogenetic disorders.

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Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Longitudinal section of a tooth depicting the pulp cavity where the dental pulp resides. DPSC are found within the dental pulp and are represented here as yellow dots.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Morphological changes during neuronal differentiation of DPSC. (A) Undifferentiated DPSC have a spindle-shape similar to fibroblasts. (B) DPSC were differentiated and allowed to mature for 3 weeks, resulting in a mixed culture containing both neuron-like and glial-like cells. The neurons (black arrows) show a pyramidal-like, neuronal morphology with shorter projections similar to dendrites and a longer axonal projection on the opposing side. The glial cells (red arrows) show a typical star-shaped morphology with a rounded cell body and small projections extending from the perimeter. Both images were taken at a 10x magnification using phase-contrast microscopy.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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