Definition | Dental pulp is a soft, connective tissue present in the dental crown of both third molar and first premolar teeth. Dental pulp stem cells (DPSCs) exhibit fibro-blast like plasticity and adherent properties. They are harvested through surgical extraction of wisdom teeth from adults; this procedure is favoured as it is non-invasive, easily accessible, and allows for an alternate use of teeth that are usually discarded. DPSCs can remain stable in media once extracted, and have a high proliferation and regeneration capacity.
DPSCs have multiple properties, and express surface antigens like CD90, CD29, and CD105 but not CD14 or CD45. They also express specific pluripotency markers like MYC and SOX2 which can be absent in other MSCs. These cells have innate neurogenic potential as their origins are traced to the embryonic neural crest; there is potential for these cells to create neurons and glial cells. In addition, they are able to differentiate into chondrocytes, adipocytes, and odontoblasts under appropriate conditions. |
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