Stem cells are pluripotent cells, having a property of differentiating into various types of cells of human body. Several studies have developed mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) from various human tissues, peripheral blood and body fluids. These cells are then characterized by cellular and molecular markers to understand their specific phenotypes. Dental pulp stem cells (DPSCs) are having a MSCs phenotype and they are differentiated into neuron, cardiomyocytes, chondrocytes, osteoblasts, liver cells and β cells of islet of pancreas. Thus, DPSCs have shown great potentiality to use in regenerative medicine for treatment of various human diseases including dental related problems. These cells can also be developed into induced pluripotent stem cells by incorporation of pluripotency markers and use for regenerative therapies of various diseases. The DPSCs are derived from various dental tissues such as human exfoliated deciduous teeth, apical papilla, periodontal ligament and dental follicle tissue. This review will overview the information about isolation, cellular and molecular characterization and differentiation of DPSCs into various types of human cells and thus these cells have important applications in regenerative therapies for various diseases. This review will be most useful for postgraduate dental students as well as scientists working in the field of oral pathology and oral medicine.

Journal of Cancer Metastasis and Treatment is an open access journal, focusing on basic and clinical studies related to cancer cell, cell biology, oncology, radiation therapy and radiology, obstetrics and gynecology, pediatrics, surgery, hematology, neuro-oncology, etc.

Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs), are multipotent stem cells that can differentiate into osteoblasts, chondrocytes, myocytes and adipocytes. We utilized adipose tissue as our primary source, since it is a rich source of MSCs as well as it can be harvested using a minimally invasive surgical procedure. Both visceral and subcutaneous adipose tissue (VSAT, SCAT respectively) samples were cultured using growth medium without using any substratum for their attachment. We observed growth of mesenchymal like cells within 15 days of culturing. In spite of the absence of any substratum, the cells adhered to the bottom of the petri dish, and spread out within 2 hours. Presently VSAT cells have reached at passage 10 whereas; SCAT cells have reached at passage 14. Morphologically MSCs obtained from visceral adipose tissue were larger in shape than subcutaneous adipose tissue. We checked these cells for presence or absence of specific stem cell molecular markers. We found that VSAT and SCAT cells confirmed their MSC phenotype by expression of specific MSC markers CD 105 and CD 13 and absence of CD34 and CD 45 markers which are specific for haematopoietic stem cells. These cells also expressed SOX2 gene confirming their ability of self-renewal as well as expressed OCT4, LIF and NANOG for their properties for pluripotency & plasticity. Overall, it was shown that adipose tissue is a good source of mesenchymal stem cells. It was also shown that MSCs, isolated from adipose tissue are multipotent stem cells that can differentiate into osteoblasts, chondrocytes, cardiomyocytes, adipocytes and liver cells which may open a new era for cell based regenerative therapies for bone, cardiac and liver disorders.