Human dental pulp stem cells and its applications in regenerative medicine – A literature review

Human dental pulp-derived stem cells have varied applications in regenerative medicine. Dental pulp stem cells (DPSCs) are considered to be neural crest cells. They are known to have higher regenerative potential than the bone marrow-derived mesenchymal stem cells. DPSCs have multipotency, immunomodulatory function, and self-renewal capacity. They are highly proliferative, clonogenic and are capable of differentiating into adipocytes, neural cells, odontoblasts, and various other cells. DPSCs are effective for various diseases, such as spinal cord injuries, Parkinson’s disease, Alzheimer’s disease, cerebral ischemia, myocardial infarction, muscular dystrophy, diabetes, liver diseases, eye diseases, immune diseases, and oral diseases. This article provides an overview of properties and regenerative applications of human DPSCs.