Securing an adequate blood supply for the survival of cell transplants is critical for a successful outcome in tissue engineering. Interactions between endothelial and progenitor/stem cells are important for vascularization of regenerating tissue. Recently, self-assembling peptide nanofibers were described as a promising environment for pulp regeneration due to their synthetic nature and contro...

Inflammatory periodontal disease is a major cause of loss of tooth-supporting structures. Novel approaches for regeneration of periodontal apparatus is an area of intensive research. Periodontal tissue engineering implies the use of appropriate regenerative cells, delivered through a suitable scaffold, and guided through signaling molecules. Dental pulp stem cells have been used in an increasin...

The penetration of cariogenic oral bacteria into enamel and dentin during the caries process triggers an immune/inflammatory response in the underlying pulp tissue, the reduction of which is considered a prerequisite to dentinogenesis-based pulp regeneration. If the role of odontoblasts in dentin formation is well known, their involvement in the antibacterial response of the dental pulp to cari...

Dental pulp tissue supports the vitality of the tooth, but it is particularly vulnerable to external insults, such as mechanical trauma, chemical irritation or microbial invasion, which can lead to tissue necrosis. In the present work, we present an endodontic regeneration method based on the use of a tridimensional (3D) hyaluronan scaffold and human dental pulp stem cells (DPSCs) to produce a ...

A comprehensive understanding of tooth development, etiology, and pathogenesis of pulp and periradicular tissues supports the underlying principles for endodontic treatment. Innovative therapies apply biological modulators that have been identified during tooth and bone embryogenesis and later became cloned for experimental and clinical application. These modulators are intended to improve trea...

Gene-based therapies for tissue regeneration involve delivering a specific gene to a target tissue with the goal of changing the phenotype or protein expression profile of the recipient cell; the ultimate goal being to form specific tissues required for regeneration. One of the principal advantages of this approach is that it provides for a sustained delivery of physiologic levels of the growth...

Spinal cord injury (SCI) often leads to persistent functional deficits due to the loss of neurons and glia and to limited axonal regeneration after such injury. Recently, three independent groups have reported marked recovery of hindlimb locomotor function after the transplantation of human adult dental pulp stem cells (DPSCs) and stem cells from human exfoliated deciduous teeth (SHEDs) into ra...