Odontogenic Potential of Mesenchymal Cells from Hair Follicle Dermal Papilla

The study explored the odontogenic potential of mesenchymal cells from hair follicle dermal papilla, specifically using cultured vibrissae follicle dermal papilla mesenchymal cells (FDPMCs) from adult C57BL/6 GFP mice. These cells demonstrated the ability to differentiate into adipocytes and osteoblasts in vitro. When placed in an inductive microenvironment with apical bud and dental mesenchyme from 7-day-old C57 mice, FDPMCs showed odontogenic potential through morphological transformation, cell-cycle changes, and expression of tooth-specific markers. In vivo experiments further confirmed that GFP+ FDPMCs could function as odontoblasts, as evidenced by the coexpression of GFP and DSP proteins in the odontoblast layer of recovered implants. This indicated that whisker FDPMCs from adult mice could differentiate into odontoblast-like cells, suggesting a novel source for tooth regeneration.