REVIEW

Cell Research, 15(5):301-316, May 2005

Making a tooth: growth factors, transcription factors, and stem cells

Yan Ding ZHANG^1,2, Zhi CHEN¹, Yi Qiang SONG³, Chao LIU², Yi Ping CHEN^2,3,*

¹College of Stomatology, Wuhan University, Wuhan 430072, China
²College of Bioengineering, Fujian Normal University, Fuzhou 350007, China
³Division of Developmental Biology, Department of Cell and Molecular Biology, Tulane University, New Orleans, LA 70118, USA 

Correspondence: Yi Ping CHEN +504-865-5587 (phone) +504-865-6785 (fax) ychen@tulane.edu

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Abstract

Mammalian tooth development is largely dependent on sequential and reciprocal epithelial-mesenchymal interactions. These processes involve a series of inductive and permissive interactions that result in the determination, differentiation, and organization of odontogenic tissues. Multiple signaling molecules, including BMPs, FGFs, Shh, and Wnt proteins, have been implicated in mediating these tissue interactions. Transcription factors participate in epithelial-mesenchymal interactions via linking the signaling loops between tissue layers by responding to inductive signals and regulating the expression of other signaling molecules. Adult stem cells are highly plastic and multipotent. These cells including dental pulp stem cells and bone marrow stromal cells could be reprogrammed into odontogenic fate and participated in tooth formation. Recent progress in the studies of molecular basis of tooth development, adult stem cell biology, and regeneration will provide fundamental knowledge for the realization of human tooth regeneration in the near future.

Keywords: tooth development, transcription factor, growth factor, stem cells, regeneration.