Human Dental Pulp- Derived Stem Cells Restore Movement in Rats with Spinal Cord Injuries

There are over 250,000 Americans affected by spinal cord injuries. Being that these injuries are widespread problems, research on these injuries is an ongoing process. Research is strongly concentrated on stem cell lineages to repair damaged nueral spinal tissue.

The Nagoya University Graduate School of Medicine in Japan has tested neural capabilities of human dental pulp-derived stem cells from wisdom teeth. They got these stem cells and placed them into rats with spinal cord injuries and they were surprised to notice that they soon after began to express nueral markers needed to regrow Schwann cells and oligodendrocytes, which are needed for spinal cord regeneration. Researchers also noticed a recovery in locomotor functions of the hind limb, something not visible when inputting other types of stem cells.

Researchers found that these dental pulp-derived stem cells specifically: inhibit the apoptotic nerve cells, promote axonal regeneration, and replace lost oligodendrocytes. These results show a promising future in using these type of stem cells for spinal cord injuries.