Small molecule inhibitor of TGF-β signaling enables robust osteogenesis of autologous GMSCs to successfully repair minipig severe maxillofacial bone defects.

Background: Clinically, for stem cell-based therapy (SCBT), autologous stem cells are considered better than allogenic stem cells because of little immune rejection and no risk of communicable disease infection. However, severe maxillofacial bone defects restoration needs sufficient autologous stem cells, and this remains a challenge worldwide. Human gingival mesenchymal stem cells (hGMSCs) derived from clinically discarded, easily obtainable, and self-healing autologous gingival tissues, have higher proliferation rate compared with autologous bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells (hBMSCs).