Cell Reprogramming, IPS Limitations, and Overcoming Strategies in Dental Bioengineering

Figure 3

Theoretical design of a dental engineering process involving IPS cells. Tooth tissues already present well-characterized populations of ectomesenchymal SCs, that can generate de novo a complete dentin-pulp complex and periodontium. The hard enamel tissue constituting the remaining part of the tooth must be formed by dental epithelial cells. In this context, autogenic IPS cells could be used as a source of new dental epithelium, to be recombined with ectomesenchymal cells, thus creating a bioengineered tooth germ that can be cultured in vitro and transplanted to the jawbone/maxillary bone of a recipient host to form a fully functional tooth. Almost all IPS-derived epithelial cells will disappear after tooth eruption, as a consequence of normal dental development.