1 Department of Oral Biological and Medical Sciences, Faculty of Dentistry, University of British Columbia , Vancouver, Canada .
Stem Cells Dev. 2013 Dec 15;22(24):3157-77. doi: 10.1089/scd.2013.0015. Epub 2013 Sep 24.
Postnatal connective tissues contain phenotypically heterogeneous cells populations that include distinct fibroblast subpopulations, pericytes, myofibroblasts, fibrocytes, and tissue-specific mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs). These cells play key roles in tissue development, maintenance, and repair and contribute to various pathologies. Depending on the origin of tissue, connective tissue cells, including MSCs, have different phenotypes. Understanding the identity and specific functions of these distinct tissue-specific cell populations may allow researchers to develop better treatment modalities for tissue regeneration and find novel approaches to prevent pathological conditions. Interestingly, MSCs from adult oral mucosal gingiva possess distinct characteristics, including neural crest origin, multipotent differentiation capacity, fetal-like phenotype, and potent immunomodulatory properties. These characteristics and an easy, relatively noninvasive access to gingival tissue, and fast tissue regeneration after tissue biopsy make gingiva an attractive target for cell isolation for therapeutic purposes aiming to promote tissue regeneration and fast, scar-free wound healing. The purpose of this review is to discuss the identity, phenotypical heterogeneity, and function of gingival MSCs and summarize what is currently known about their properties, role in scar-free healing, and their future therapeutic potential.
产后结缔组织包含表型异质性细胞群体，包括不同的成纤维细胞亚群、周细胞、肌成纤维细胞、纤维细胞和组织特异性间充质干细胞（MSCs）。这些细胞在组织发育、维持和修复中发挥关键作用，并导致各种病理状态。根据组织来源，包括 MSCs 在内的结缔组织细胞具有不同的表型。了解这些不同组织特异性细胞群体的特征和特定功能，可能使研究人员能够开发出更好的组织再生治疗方法，并找到预防病理性疾病的新方法。有趣的是，来自成人口腔黏膜牙龈的 MSC 具有独特的特征，包括神经嵴起源、多能分化能力、胎儿样表型和强大的免疫调节特性。这些特征以及牙龈组织易于获取、相对微创、组织活检后组织再生迅速，使得牙龈成为用于治疗目的的细胞分离的有吸引力的靶标，旨在促进组织再生和无瘢痕的快速愈合。本综述的目的是讨论牙龈 MSC 的特征、表型异质性和功能，并总结目前已知的关于其特性、在无瘢痕愈合中的作用及其未来治疗潜力的信息。
