A single cell atlas of human teeth [article]

Pierfrancesco Pagella, Laura de Vargas Roditi, Bernd Stadlinger, Andreas E. Moor, Thimios A. Mitsiadis
2021 bioRxiv   pre-print
Teeth exert fundamental functions related to mastication and speech. Despite their great biomedical importance, an overall picture of their cellular and molecular composition is still missing. In this study, we have mapped the transcriptional landscape of the various cell populations that compose human teeth at single-cell resolution, and we analyzed in deeper detail their stem cell populations and their microenvironment. Our study identified great cellular heterogeneity in the dental pulp and
more » ... he periodontium. Unexpectedly, we found that the molecular signatures of the stem cell populations were very similar, and that their distinctive behavior could be due to substantial differences between their microenvironments. Our findings suggest that the microenvironmental specificity is the potential source for the major functional differences of the stem cells located in the various tooth compartments and open new perspectives towards cell-based dental therapeutic approaches.
doi:10.1101/2021.02.19.431962 fatcat:x6ohrsgonvbd5cj4ib77byduwa