Stem Cells from Human Exfoliated Deciduous Teeth in Tissue Regeneration

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Every species in this world, from the simplest to complex organisms, hasauto-capacity for tissue regeneration. Tissue regeneration is a process of renewal andgrowth that replaces or repairs damaged or lost tissue as a result of natural changes ordisturbances. As organisms become more complex, their regenerative abilitydiminishes. As humans are complex having very limited regenerative capability, tissueregeneration has become one of growing areas of research. However, it has become aresource-intensive research as it is dependent on the availability and ability of the cellsused. The need to find an available source of cells led researchers to choose stem cells.The use of stem cells has shown excellent progress in tissue regeneration and numeroustypes of stem cells have been reported to be used in tissue regeneration, namelymesenchymal stem cells, neural stem cells, adipose stem cells, cardiac stem cells,induced pluripotent stem cells etc. However, the potential use of dental stem cells inregenerative medicine has not been widely discussed. Dental stem cells, which werefirst discovered in 1985 have been very well-characterized for their potential to be usedin dental tissue regeneration, but less recognized for application in other parts of thebody. Therefore, this chapter focusses on the potential use of dental stem cells,particularly stem cells from human exfoliated deciduous teeth (SHED) for tissueregeneration. SHED are adult stem cells that can be retrieved from primary teeth. Sincethese cells can be acquired after extraction of deciduous teeth, they provide noninvasive,unlimited cell sources without any ethical concerns. They are multipotentstem cells with a higher proliferation rate and differentiation capability than otherdental stem cells and human bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells. Therefore, thischapter will specifically address the differentiation potential of SHED, particularly withrespect to fibroblasts, epithelial and osteoblast-like cells, growth factors and thesignalling pathways involved. Knowledge about the differentiation potential of SHEDis important because it creates a plethora of opportunities as an excellent stem cellmodel for tissue regeneration. Keeping this in mind, this chapter aims to provideinformation to the researchers, students, and scientists working or interested inexploring the SHED on tissue regeneration.