Dental Pulp Stem Cell Niche

Dental stem cells exist in dental tissues. Of those that have been isolated and better studied are those reside in dental pulp. These dental tissue-derived mesenchymal stem/stromal cells (MSCs) shared similar characteristics to other MSCs , yet, they are subtly different. The markers to identify MSC populations in situ as well as after isolation into cell cultures have been elusive. A number of markers have been used to identify dental pulp stem cells (DPSCs ) in situ such as STRO-1 , CD146 , 3G5, NOTCH3 and NG2 . Certain subpopulations based on some marker expression have been studied in vitro and tested for pulp-dentin tissue regeneration. Various approaches have been utilized to study the cellular and molecular mechanisms involved in the DPSC interactions with its niche components such as extracellular matrix . This chapter will focus on the review of the recent studies regarding DPSC niches and particularly their regulation.