Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Review
. 2022 Mar 22;10(4):737.
doi: 10.3390/biomedicines10040737.

Dental-Pulp Stem Cells as a Therapeutic Strategy for Ischemic Stroke

Chikako Nito  1   2 , Satoshi Suda  1 , Yuko Nitahara-Kasahara  3 , Takashi Okada  3 , Kazumi Kimura  1
Affiliations
Review

Dental-Pulp Stem Cells as a Therapeutic Strategy for Ischemic Stroke

Chikako Nito et al. Biomedicines. .

Abstract

Regenerative medicine aims to restore human functions by regenerating organs and tissues using stem cells or living tissues for the treatment of organ and tissue defects or dysfunction. Clinical trials investigating the treatment of cerebral infarction using mesenchymal stem cells, a type of somatic stem cell therapy, are underway. The development and production of regenerative medicines using somatic stem cells is expected to contribute to the treatment of cerebral infarction, a central nervous system disease for which there is no effective treatment. Numerous experimental studies have shown that cellular therapy, including the use of human dental pulp stem cells, is an attractive strategy for patients with ischemic brain injury. This review describes the basic research, therapeutic mechanism, clinical trials, and future prospects for dental pulp stem cell therapy, which is being investigated in Japan in first-in-human clinical trials for the treatment of patients with acute cerebral ischemia.

Keywords: cell-based therapy; cerebral ischemia; clinical trials; dental pulp stem cells; neuroprotection.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

C.N., Y.N.-K. and T.O. received research funding from the Kaneka Co., S.S. received research funding from the All Japan Coffee Association, and lecture fees from Eisai Co., Ltd. (Tokyo, Japan), K.K. received lecture fees from Bristol-Myers Squibb Co., Ltd. (New York, NY, USA), Nippon Boehringer Ingelheim Co., Ltd. (Ingelheim, Germany), Bayer Healthcare Co., Ltd. (Leverkusen, Germany) and Daiichi Sankyo Co., Ltd. (Tokyo, Japan), and research funding from Nippon Boehringer Ingelheim Co., Ltd., Daiichi Sankyo Co., Ltd., and Teijin Pharma Co., Ltd. (Tokyo, Japan).

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Effect of dental pulp stem cell transplantation in cerebral infarction. Acute phase: (1) direct secretion of stem cells or the accumulation of stem cells in the spleen; paracrine effects of various trophic factors and cytokines via the spleen, (2) the suppression of inflammatory cytokines, (3) protection of the vascular endothelium, (4) immune modulation through the induction of inhibitory T cells. Subacute~chronic phase: (1) promotion of angiogenesis, (2) promotion of intrinsic nerve regeneration, and differentiation of transplanted cells into neurons and glial cells. NGF, Nerve growth factor; BDNF, brain-derived neurotrophic factor; GDNF, glial cell-derived neurotrophic factor; VEGF, vascular endothelial growth factor; SDF-1, stromal cell-derived factor-1; IL-1β, interleukin 1 beta; IL-6, interleukin 6; IL-2, interleukin 2; IFN-γ, interferon gamma; TNF-α, tumor necrosis factor alpha.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Virani S.S., Alonso A., Benjamin E.J., Bittencourt M.S., Callaway C.W., Carson A.P., Chamberlain A.M., Chang A.R., Cheng S., Delling F.N., et al. Heart Disease and Stroke Statistics-2020 Update: A Report From the American Heart Association. Circulation. 2020;141:e139–e596. doi: 10.1161/CIR.0000000000000757. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Kuriakose D., Xiao Z. Pathophysiology and Treatment of Stroke: Present Status and Future Perspectives. Int. J. Mol. Sci. 2020;21:7609. doi: 10.3390/ijms21207609. - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Hacke W., Kaste M., Bluhmki E., Brozman M., Davalos A., Guidetti D., Larrue V., Lees K.R., Medeghri Z., Machnig T., et al. Thrombolysis with alteplase 3 to 4.5 hours after acute ischemic stroke. N. Engl. J. Med. 2008;359:1317–1329. doi: 10.1056/NEJMoa0804656. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Smith W.S., Sung G., Saver J., Budzik R., Duckwiler G., Liebeskind D.S., Lutsep H.L., Rymer M.M., Higashida R.T., Starkman S., et al. Mechanical thrombectomy for acute ischemic stroke: Final results of the Multi MERCI trial. Stroke. 2008;39:1205–1212. doi: 10.1161/STROKEAHA.107.497115. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Hao L., Zou Z., Tian H., Zhang Y., Zhou H., Liu L. Stem cell-based therapies for ischemic stroke. Biomed Res. Int. 2014;2014:468748. doi: 10.1155/2014/468748. - DOI - PMC - PubMed

LinkOut - more resources