Dental Stem Cells to Restore Vision

Retinal ganglion cell loss is the leading cause of blindness and can arise through traumatic injury or degenerative diseases such as glaucoma. Neurotrophic factors (NTFs), which travel along the axon of a neuron to a cell body act as survival signals however, following injury or disease, this supply is lost and RGCs die. Researchers from the University of Birmingham (United Kingdom) have discovered that stem cells isolated from the teeth, termed dental pulp stem cells (DPSC), naturally express multiple NTFs which can supplement the lost supply of NTF and protect retinal ganglion cells from death as well as promote regeneration of their axons. The study authors write that: “Intravitreal transplants of [dental pulp stem cells] promoted significant neurotrophin-mediated [retinal ganglion cell]  survival and axon regeneration after optic nerve injury.”