Effect of OCT4 overexpression on the neural induction of human dental pulp stem cells

Stem cell-based therapy is an alternative strategy for brain repair. Various cell types have been investigated and dental pulp stem cells (DPSC) have been identified as promising candidates. These multipotent stem cells are found in the dental pulp tissue of molar teeth. They are clinically easily obtained, have a high proliferative rate, and possess neurogenic potential due to their mesoectodermal origin. Here, overexpression of octamer-binding transcription factor 4 (OCT4) in combination with neural conditions was used to reprogram human DPSC along the neural lineage. Transcriptomic analysis of differentially-expressed genes highlighted the expression of genes associated with neural and neuronal functions in the OCT4-overexpressing DPSC following neural induction.