牙髓干细胞在组织工程及再生医学中的应用研究进展*

牙髓干细胞是源自于牙髓组织的一种成体干细胞，具有多向分化、高度增殖潜能，免疫调节能力和旁分泌 作用，已成功用于牙齿、骨、神经、肌肉、角膜等组织重建及再生，呈现出良好的临床应用前景。现就牙髓干细 胞的生物学特性、组织工程及再生医学中的应用、存在的问题及未来的研究方向作简要综述。

Application of dental pulp stem cells in tissue engineering and regenerative medicine*

Dental pulp stem cells are a kind of adult stem cells derived from dental pulp characterized by multidifferentiation capability， high proliferation rate， immunoregulatory property and paracrine capability， which endows them with great therapeutic potential for repairing damaged or defective tissues. They have been successfully used in the reconstruction and regeneration of teeth， bone， nerve muscle and cornea， which holds great promise for clinical application. This review described the biological characteristics of dental stem cells， the application of the tissue engineering and regenerative medicine， the existing problems and future research direction.