Neurogenic differentiation of human dental pulp stem cells by optogenetics stimulation.

Introduction: Human dental pulp stem cells (hDPSCs), a promising source for autologous transplantation in regenerative medicine, have been shown to be able to differentiate into neural precursors. Optogenetics is considered as an advanced biological technique in neuroscience which is able to control the activity of genetically modified stem cells by light. The purpose of this study is to investigate the neurogenic differentiation of hDPSCs following optogenetic stimulation.