The Role of Growth Factors in Enhancing the Odontogenic Differentiation of Dental Stem Cells: A Narrative Review

Recent advances in regenerative medicine and tissue engineering have highlighted dental stem cells as a promising therapeutic resource for the repair and regeneration of damaged dental tissues. Owing to their remarkable self-renewal capacity, multilineage differentiation potential, and accessibility, dental stem cells have become attractive candidates for regenerative endodontic applications. However, successful dental tissue regeneration depends not only on the intrinsic biological properties of stem cells but also on the signaling molecules that regulate their proliferation, migration, survival, and differentiation. Among these bioactive molecules, growth factors play a central role in orchestrating odontogenic differentiation and promoting the regeneration of the dentin–pulp complex. This narrative review aims to summarize current evidence regarding the biological functions of major growth factors involved in dental stem cell differentiation and to discuss their potential applications in regenerative dentistry. Relevant studies focusing on dental stem cell populations, including dental pulp stem cells (DPSCs), stem cells from human exfoliated deciduous teeth (SHED), periodontal ligament stem cells (PDLSCs), and stem cells from the apical papilla (SCAP), were reviewed. In addition, the biological activities of key growth factors such as bone morphogenetic proteins (BMPs), fibroblast growth factors (FGFs), vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), platelet-derived growth factor (PDGF), and insulin-like growth factor (IGF) were analyzed. Current evidence indicates that these signaling molecules regulate multiple cellular pathways associated with odontoblast differentiation, angiogenesis, extracellular matrix formation, and tissue remodeling. Moreover, combining dental stem cells with growth factors and biocompatible scaffolds has demonstrated encouraging outcomes in preclinical models of dentin–pulp regeneration. Despite these promising findings, further well-designed clinical studies are required to establish standardized therapeutic protocols and confirm the long-term safety and effectiveness of growth factor-based regenerative strategies in clinical dentistry

کلیدواژه ها:

Dental stem cells ، Growth factors ، Odontogenic differentiation ، Dentin–pulp regeneration ، Tissue engineering