Dental-Pulp Stem Cells as a Therapeutic Strategy for Ischemic Stroke

Abstract

Regenerative medicine aims to restore human functions by regenerating organs and tissues using stem cells or living tissues for the treatment of organ and tissue defects or dysfunction. Clinical trials investigating the treatment of cerebral infarction using mesenchymal stem cells, a type of somatic stem cell therapy, are underway. The development and production of regenerative medicines using somatic stem cells is expected to contribute to the treatment of cerebral infarction, a central nervous system disease for which there is no effective treatment. Numerous experimental studies have shown that cellular therapy, including the use of human dental pulp stem cells, is an attractive strategy for patients with ischemic brain injury. This review describes the basic research, therapeutic mechanism, clinical trials, and future prospects for dental pulp stem cell therapy, which is being investigated in Japan in first-in-human clinical trials for the treatment of patients with acute cerebral ischemia.