Periodontal ligament stem cells are
stem cell
In multicellular organisms, stem cells are undifferentiated or partially differentiated cells that can differentiate into various types of cells and proliferate indefinitely to produce more of the same stem cell. They are the earliest type of ...
s found near the
periodontal ligament
The periodontal ligament, commonly abbreviated as the PDL, is a group of specialized connective tissue fibers that essentially attach a tooth to the alveolar bone within which it sits. It inserts into root cementum one side and onto alveolar b ...
of the teeth. They are involved in adult regeneration of the periodontal ligament,
alveolar bone
The alveolar process () or alveolar bone is the thickened ridge of bone that contains the tooth sockets on the jaw bones (in humans, the maxilla and the mandible). The structures are covered by gums as part of the oral cavity.
The synonymous t ...
, and
cementum. The cells are known to express
STRO-1 and
CD146 proteins.
Tissues (biology)
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