Contribution of Neural Crest Cells in Tooth Development and the Possibility of Tooth Regeneration

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  • Yamazaki Hidetoshi
    Division of Regenerative Medicine and Therapeutics, Department of Genetic Medicine and Regenerative Therapeutics, Institute of Regenerative Medicine and Biofunction, Tottori University Graduate School of Medical Science Division of Immunology, Department of Molecular and Cellular Biology, School of Life Science, Faculty of Medicine, Tottori University
  • Hayashi Shin-Ichi
    Division of Immunology, Department of Molecular and Cellular Biology, School of Life Science, Faculty of Medicine, Tottori University

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Abstract

The tooth is a vertebrate-specific organ that develops through a series of reciprocal interactions between epithelium and mesenchyme. In this process, the neural crest (NC) cells participate in tooth development. NC cells are multipotent cells that are generated from the lateral ridge of the dorsal neural tube during the early stages of embryogenesis. NC cells migrate into various tissues, where they differentiate into odontoblasts, chondrocytes, osteoblasts, neurons and melanocytes. NC cells also participate in organogenesis in such organs as the teeth, mandible, heart and thymus. No tooth is observed in invertebrates, which do not have NC cells. The study of tooth development is thus useful for examining the roles of NC cells in tooth organogenesis. It has been considered that teeth can never be regenerated. However, recent progress in stem cell biology has proved the regeneration of neurons in the brain. These findings suggest the possibility of tooth regeneration. Here, we review the relationships between NC-derived cells and tooth development, and discuss the possibility of the presence of tooth germ, dental pulp cells, embryonic stem cells, and multipotent NC cells in the peripheral tissues.

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