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TISSUE-SPECIFIC STEM CELLS

Potential of Dental Mesenchymal Cells in Developing Teeth

^aDivision of Genomics and Regenerative Biology, Department of Physiology and Regenerative Medicine, Institute of Medical Science, Mie University Graduate School of Medicine, Tsu, Japan;
^bDivision of Immunology, Department of Molecular and Cellular Biology, School of Life Science, Faculty of Medicine, Tottori University, Yonago, Japan;
^cDivision of Developmental Genetics, Institute of Molecular Embryology and Genetics, Kumamoto University, Kumamoto, Japan

Key Words. Dental mesenchyme • Neural crest-derived cells • Murine tooth • Osteoblast • Chondrocyte • Odontoblast Tissue-specific stem cells • Cre-loxP system

Correspondence: Hidetoshi Yamazaki, D.D.S., Ph.D., Department of Physiology and Regenerative Medicine, Division of Genomics and Regenerative Biology, Institute of Medical Science, Mie University Graduate School of Medicine, Tsu 514-8507, Japan. Telephone: 81-59-231-5498; Fax: 81-59-231-5004; e-mail: yamazaki{at}doc.medic.mie-u.ac.jp

Received June 12, 2006; accepted for publication August 23, 2006.
First published online in STEM CELLS EXPRESS   August 31, 2006.



The tooth, composed of dentin and enamel, develops through epithelium-mesenchyme interactions. Neural crest (NC) cells contribute to the dental mesenchyme in the developing tooth and differentiate into dentin-secreting odontoblasts. NC cells are known to differentiate into chondrocytes and osteoblasts in the craniofacial region. However, it is not clear whether the dental mesenchymal cells in the developing tooth possess the potential to differentiate into a lineage(s) other than the odontoblast lineage. In this study, we prepared mesenchymal cells from E13.5 tooth germ cells and assessed their potential for differentiation in culture. They differentiated into odontoblasts, chondrocyte-like cells, and osteoblast-like cells. Their derivation was confirmed by tracing NC-derived cells as LacZ⁺ cells using P0-Cre/Rosa26R mice. Using the flow cytometry-fluorescent di-ß-D-galactosidase system, which makes it possible to detect LacZ⁺ cells as living cells, cell surface molecules of dental mesenchymal cells were characterized. Large number of LacZ⁺ NC-derived cells expressed platelet-derived growth factor receptor and integrins. Taken together, these results suggest that NC-derived cells with the potential to differentiate into chondrocyte-like and osteoblast-like cells are present in the developing tooth, and these cells may contribute to tooth organogenesis.

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