Project R-3519

Dental pulp stem cells: towards a new solution for inferior alveolar nerve injury (Research)

Permanent damage to the inferior alveolar nerve (IAN) is a common and serious complication in dental health care. Since the currently used treatments of IAN injuries are still far from the desired result, there is an urgent need for better and alternative therapies. Recently, a mesenchymal stem cell population has been identified within the soft pulp tissue of the human tooth. Unlike stem cells from the bone marrow, these dental pulp stem cells (hDPSC) can be easily extracted without any complications and ethical issues. hDPSC posses the capacity for differentiation into chondrocytes, osteoblasts and adipocytes and are currently evaluated in clinical trials for bone tissue engineering. Moreover, hDPSC have neurotrophic properties and the possibility to transdifferentiate into neuronal cells. Furthermore, preliminary data obtained in our laboratory, indicate that these cells also differentiate into Schwann cells. Therefore, the goal of this project is to elucidate into detail the neurotrophic and Schwann cell differentiation potential of the hDPSCs and the application of these cells to treat the IAN damage in an in vivo rat model. The knowledge obtained in this research proposal, may also lead to a solution for other peripheral nerve traumas and pathologies such as Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease.

01 January 2012 - 31 December 2015