Open AccessConcise Review: Dental Pulp Stem Cells: A Novel Cell Therapy for Retinal and Central Nervous System Repair
Author(s) -
Mead Ben,
Logan Ann,
Berry Martin,
Leadbeater Wendy,
Scheven Ben A.
Publication year - 2017
Publication title -
stem cells
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.159
H-Index - 229
eISSN - 1549-4918
pISSN - 1066-5099
DOI - 10.1002/stem.2398
Subject(s) - biology , dental pulp stem cells , stem cell , neural stem cell , paracrine signalling , mesenchymal stem cell , neural crest , neuroscience , central nervous system , stem cell therapy , regeneration (biology) , optic nerve , microbiology and biotechnology , genetics , embryo , receptor
Dental pulp stem cells (DPSC) are neural crest‐derived ecto‐mesenchymal stem cells that can relatively easily and non‐invasively be isolated from the dental pulp of extracted postnatal and adult teeth. Accumulating evidence suggests that DPSC have great promise as a cellular therapy for central nervous system (CNS) and retinal injury and disease. The mode of action by which DPSC confer therapeutic benefit may comprise multiple pathways, in particular, paracrine‐mediated processes which involve a wide array of secreted trophic factors and is increasingly regarded as the principal predominant mechanism. In this concise review, we present the current evidence for the use of DPSC to repair CNS damage, including recent findings on retinal ganglion cell neuroprotection and regeneration in optic nerve injury and glaucoma. S tem C ells 2017;35:61–67