Abstract
Neural crest cells emerge from the dorsal region of the fusing neural tube in vertebrate embryos, then migrate throughout tissues to differentiate into various cell types, including osteoblasts. In adults, subsets of neural crest-derived cells (NCDCs) reside as stem cells and are considered to be useful cell sources for regenerative medicine. Previous studies have suggested that these NCDC subsets persist into adulthood in mammals, especially those cells within the craniofacial compartments. Recently, our group found that NCDCs were scattered throughout tissues of the palate, gingiva, tongue, hair follicle, submandibular glands, and buccal mucosa of adult mice. NCDCs from the buccal mucosa can also form neurosphere-like structures that have the capability to differentiate into osteoblasts in the presence of bone morphogenetic protein-2. In addition, NCDCs in adults have characteristic gene expression profiles, especially their cell surface molecules. Thus, cell sorting using several specific cell surface molecules has been proposed as a useful method for isolating NCDCs with high purity. Together, these results suggest that NCDCs reside in various adult oral and maxillofacial regions, and possess the potential to differentiate into osteoblastic cells, indicating that these cells in adults may be a useful source for bone regeneration strategies. In this review, we discuss the distribution, isolation and osteoblastic differentiation potential of NCDCs isolated from various adult tissue sources in the oral and maxillofacial regions.
