New insight into dental epithelial stem cells: Identification, regulation, and function in tooth homeostasis and repair

doi:10.4252/wjsc.v12.i11.1327

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World Journal of Stem Cells

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World J Stem Cells. Nov 26, 2020; 12(11): 1327-1340
Published online Nov 26, 2020. doi: 10.4252/wjsc.v12.i11.1327

New insight into dental epithelial stem cells: Identification, regulation, and function in tooth homeostasis and repair

Lu Gan, Ying Liu, Di-Xin Cui, Yue Pan, Mian Wan

Lu Gan, Ying Liu, Di-Xin Cui, Yue Pan, State Key Laboratory of Oral Diseases & National Clinical Research Center for Oral Diseases & Department of Pediatric Dentistry, West China Hospital of Stomatology, Sichuan University, Chengdu 610041, Sichuan Province, China

Mian Wan, State Key Laboratory of Oral Diseases & National Clinical Research Center for Oral Diseases & Department of Cariology and Endodontics, West China Hospital of Stomatology, Sichuan University, Chengdu 610041, Sichuan Province, China

Author contributions: Gan L and Liu Y contributed equally to this work; Gan L, Liu Y, and Wan M conceived the idea and designed the work; Gan L, Liu Y, Cui DX, and Pan Y integrated the materials; Gan L and Liu Y wrote the paper; Wan M revised the manuscript critically; all authors have read and approved the final manuscript.

Supported by National Natural Science Foundation of China, No. 81800929; and Sichuan Science and Technology Program, No. 2019JDRC0096.

Conflict-of-interest statement: The authors declare that there is no conflict of interests regarding the publication of this paper.

Corresponding author: Mian Wan, DDS, PhD, Academic Fellow, Academic Research, Attending Doctor, Lecturer, Postdoctoral Fellow, State Key Laboratory of Oral Diseases & National Clinical Research Center for Oral Diseases & Department of Cariology and Endodontics, West China Hospital of Stomatology, Sichuan University, No. 14 3^rdSection of Renmin South Road, Chengdu 610041, Sichuan Province, China. mianwan@scu.edu.cn

Received: July 10, 2020
Peer-review started: July 10, 2020
First decision: August 9, 2020
Revised: August 21, 2020
Accepted: September 15, 2020
Article in press: September 15, 2020
Published online: November 26, 2020
Processing time: 138 Days and 16.5 Hours

Abstract

Tooth enamel, a highly mineralized tissue covering the outermost area of teeth, is always damaged by dental caries or trauma. Tooth enamel rarely repairs or renews itself, due to the loss of ameloblasts and dental epithelial stem cells (DESCs) once the tooth erupts. Unlike human teeth, mouse incisors grow continuously due to the presence of DESCs that generate enamel-producing ameloblasts and other supporting dental epithelial lineages. The ready accessibility of mouse DESCs and wide availability of related transgenic mouse lines make mouse incisors an excellent model to examine the identity and heterogeneity of dental epithelial stem/progenitor cells; explore the regulatory mechanisms underlying enamel formation; and help answer the open question regarding the therapeutic development of enamel engineering. In the present review, we update the current understanding about the identification of DESCs in mouse incisors and summarize the regulatory mechanisms of enamel formation driven by DESCs. The roles of DESCs during homeostasis and repair are also discussed, which should improve our knowledge regarding enamel tissue engineering.

Keywords: Dental epithelial stem cells; Tissue engineering; Label-retaining cells; Lineage tracing; Single-cell sequencing

Core Tip: In the present review, we update the current understanding about the identification of dental epithelial stem cells (DESCs) in mouse incisors and summarize the regulatory mechanisms of enamel formation driven by DESCs. The roles of DESCs during homeostasis and repair are also discussed, which should improve our knowledge regarding enamel tissue engineering.