# Harnessing natural stem cell-based strategies for mammalian dental renewal

> **NIH NIH R35** · UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, SAN FRANCISCO · 2022 · $1,019,948

## Abstract

PROJECT SUMMARY/ABSTRACT
By discovering the strategies that animals normally use to renew and regenerate their tissues, we can lay a
foundation for regenerative approaches in humans. One of the principal long-term goals of my laboratory
is to understand mammalian renewal and regeneration by integrating developmental and evolutionary
perspectives. To do this, we are using the dentition as a model and are taking advantage of a remarkable
property that is found in diverse mammalian species, which is the ability to grow teeth continuously based on
the presence of adult stem cells. Despite initial progress, many gaps and challenges in our knowledge
remain. We are still in the early stages of understanding how dental stem cells in the incisor epithelium
behave, and we know very little about the mesenchymal stem cells. We also have a great deal to learn about
how dental stem cells evolved and how they arise in the embryo during development. The overall scope of the
research program proposed here will be to contend with these fundamental questions: How do adult stem
cells enable the organ to renew? How do the stem cells in teeth respond to environmental influences such as
hibernation and force? How did stem cells emerge during evolution of the mammalian dentition? How do
progenitor cells in the embryo provide the starting materials for tooth development? Can we target tooth
progenitors to cure disease? The impact of our work will be to provide a solid basic science foundation
for future regenerative approaches by obtaining deep insight into a system of natural mammalian
dental renewal.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10447084
- **Project number:** 5R35DE026602-07
- **Recipient organization:** UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, SAN FRANCISCO
- **Principal Investigator:** Ophir D Klein
- **Activity code:** R35 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2022
- **Award amount:** $1,019,948
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2016-09-22 → 2024-06-30

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10447084

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10447084, Harnessing natural stem cell-based strategies for mammalian dental renewal (5R35DE026602-07). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-24 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10447084. Licensed CC0.

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