Can the Periodontal Mesenchymal Stem Cells be a Superior Source for Stem Cell-based Therapies?

Background: Stem cell-assisted tissue engineering has been considered as a promising tool for oral and maxillofacial tissue defect regeneration. Purpose: The purpose of this study was compare self-renewal and multilineage differentiation capacity of periodontal ligament stem cells (PDLSCs) with stem cells originated from other sources. Material and method: Electronic search of two databases including PubMed and science direct was conducted to identify in vitro and in vivo studies covering desired comparison between PDLSCs and other types of stem cell (SC) and are published in English. No other restrictions were applied. Results: No human study was found. Twenty three in vivo and in vitro studies were investigated for data extraction. Most of the studies compared the PDLSCs with bone marrow and gingival SCs. PDLSCs showed higher proliferative ability and lower osteo/adipo/chondrogenic differentiation potential than bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells; However, PDLSCs compared to gingival mesenchymal stem cells had lower proliferative ability and adipogenesis and higher osteo/chondrogenic differentiation potential. The results of comparison of PDLSCs with SCs from other sources were inconsistent. Conclusion: the present study highlights the PDLSCs as a promising source for stem cell-based therapies; however, further studies will be needed to determine the advantages and limitations of these cells compared to other cellular sources.