The regeneration of periodontal, periapical, and pulpal tissues is a complex process requiring the direct involvement of cells derived from pluripotent stem cells in the periodontal ligament and dental pulp. Dental pulp stem cells (DPSCs) and periodontal ligament stem cells (PDLSCs) are spatially distinct with the potential to differentiate into similar functional and phenotypic cells. We aimed to identify the cell heterogeneity of DPSCs and PDLSCs and explore the differentiation potentials of their specialized organ-specific functions using single-cell transcriptomic analysis. Our results revealed 7 distinct clusters, with cluster 3 showing the highest potential for differentiation. Clusters 0 to 2 displayed features similar to fibroblasts. The trajectory route of the cell state transition from cluster 3 to clusters 0, 1, and 2 indicated the distinct nature of cell differentiation. PDLSCs had a higher proportion of cells (78.6%) at the G1 phase, while DPSCs had a higher proportion of cells at the S and G2/M phases (36.1%), mirroring the lower cell proliferation capacity of PDLSCs than DPSCs. Our study suggested the heterogeneity of stemness across PDLSCs and DPSCs, the similarities of these 2 stem cell compartments to be potentially integrated for regenerative strategies, and the distinct features between them potentially particularized for organ-specific functions of the dental pulp and periodontal ligament for a targeted regenerative dental tissue repair and other regeneration therapies.

中文翻译：

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牙髓和牙周膜干细胞的单细胞转录组分析。

牙周、根尖周和牙髓组织的再生是一个复杂的过程，需要牙周膜和牙髓中多能干细胞衍生的细胞的直接参与。牙髓干细胞（DPSC）和牙周膜干细胞（PDLSC）在空间上不同，具有分化成相似功能和表型细胞的潜力。我们的目的是鉴定 DPSC 和 PDLSC 的细胞异质性，并利用单细胞转录组分析探索其专门的器官特异性功能的分化潜力。我们的结果揭示了 7 个不同的簇，其中簇 3 显示出最高的分化潜力。簇 0 至 2 显示出与成纤维细胞相似的特征。从簇 3 到簇 0、1 和 2 的细胞状态转变的轨迹路线表明了细胞分化的独特性质。PDLSCs的G1期细胞比例较高（78.6%），而DPSCs的S期和G2/M期细胞比例较高（36.1%），反映出PDLSCs的细胞增殖能力低于DPSCs。我们的研究表明 PDLSC 和 DPSC 之间的干细胞异质性、这两种干细胞区室的相似性可能被整合用于再生策略，以及它们之间的独特特征可能针对牙髓和牙周膜的器官特异性功能而具体化。有针对性的再生牙组织修复和其他再生疗法。