Publication details
Dental Stem Cells: Developmental Aspects
| Authors | |
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| Year of publication | 2022 |
| Type | Chapter of a book |
| MU Faculty or unit | |
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| Description | Teeth in mammals develop through an interaction between cells of the ectoderm of the first pharyngeal arch in the fetus and neural crest–derived ectomesenchyme. After initiation, this process continues throughout human fetal life and is eventually finalized before adulthood, when progenitor cells vanish. The major types of basic cells involved have been identified for quite some time. However, not until recently has some light been shed on the stem cell heterogeneity in these populations. This heterogeneity reflects the mechanisms of tooth growth and pertains, among other things, to clonal development and to the identities of rare and transient cell types. Histologic identification cannot be made using pure morphologic criteria but requires specific molecular in situ protein or messenger RNA (mRNA) detection. Much of what we know regarding dental stem cells (first mentioned by E. Haeckel, 1868) derives from experimental studies with a focus on the self-renewing rodent incisor. Ample evidence indicates that this is a reasonable model for studies of tooth development in humans. However, human-specific patterns of cellular organization are clearly discernible, with subpopulations that probably contribute to human tooth development, homeostasis, and progression of disease in unique ways. |