Periodontal ligament stem cells are

stem cell In multicellular organisms, stem cells are undifferentiated or partially differentiated cells that can change into various types of cells and proliferate indefinitely to produce more of the same stem cell. They are the earliest type of cell ...

s found near the

periodontal ligament The periodontal ligament, commonly abbreviated as the PDL, are a group of specialized connective tissue fibers that essentially attach a tooth to the alveolar bone within which they sit. It inserts into root cementum on one side and onto alveo ...

of the teeth. These cells have shown potential in the regeneration of not only the periodontal complex but also other dental and non-dental tissues. They are involved in adult regeneration of the periodontal ligament, alveolar bone, and

cementum Cementum is a specialized calcified substance covering the root of a tooth. The cementum is the part of the periodontium that attaches the teeth to the alveolar bone by anchoring the periodontal ligament. Structure The cells of cementum are ...

. The cells are known to express STRO-1 and CD146 proteins. Periodontal ligament stem cells play a role as progenitor cells. They are capable of generating into

osteoblast Osteoblasts (from the Greek combining forms for " bone", ὀστέο-, ''osteo-'' and βλαστάνω, ''blastanō'' "germinate") are cells with a single nucleus that synthesize bone. However, in the process of bone formation, osteoblasts fu ...

s, cementoblasts,

chondrocyte Chondrocytes (, ) are the only cells found in healthy cartilage. They produce and maintain the cartilaginous matrix, which consists mainly of collagen and proteoglycans. Although the word '' chondroblast'' is commonly used to describe an immatu ...

s, and

adipocyte Adipocytes, also known as lipocytes and fat cells, are the cell (biology), cells that primarily compose adipose tissue, specialized in storing energy as fat. Adipocytes are derived from mesenchymal stem cells which give rise to adipocytes through ...

References

Tissues (biology) {{Anatomy-stub