To isolate high-quality human postnatal stem cells from accessible resources is an important goal for stem-cell research. In this study we found that exfoliated human deciduous tooth contains multipotent stem cells [stem cells from human exfoliated deciduous teeth (SHED)]. SHED were identified to be a population of highly proliferative, clonogenic cells capable of differentiating into a variety of cell types including neural cells, adipocytes, and odontoblasts. After in vivo transplantation, SHED were found to be able to induce bone formation, generate dentin, and survive in mouse brain along with expression of neural markers. Here we show that a naturally exfoliated human organ contains a population of stem cells that are completely different from previously identified stem cells. SHED are not only derived from a very accessible tissue resource but are also capable of providing enough cells for potential clinical application. Thus, exfoliated teeth may be an unexpected unique resource for stem-cell therapies including autologous stem-cell transplantation and tissue engineering.

中文翻译：

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SHED：来自人脱落的乳牙的干细胞。

从可获得的资源中分离出高质量的人类产后干细胞是干细胞研究的重要目标。在这项研究中，我们发现脱落的人乳牙含有多能干细胞[来自脱落的人乳牙（SHED）的干细胞]。SHED被鉴定为能够分化为多种细胞类型（包括神经细胞，脂肪细胞和成牙本质细胞）的高度增殖的克隆细胞。在体内移植后，发现SHED能够诱导骨骼形成，生成牙本质并与神经标记一起在小鼠脑中存活。在这里，我们显示了自然剥落的人体器官中包含的干细胞群与之前确定的干细胞完全不同。SHED不仅来自非常容易获得的组织资源，而且还能够提供足够的细胞用于潜在的临床应用。因此，脱落的牙齿可能是干细胞疗法（包括自体干细胞移植和组织工程）不可预料的独特资源。