Tooth survival and periodontal tissues healing of allogenic-transplanted teeth in the mice

OBJECTIVE: For the successful organ transplantation, immune rejection has to be considered. Autogenic transplantation of human teeth is generally carried out free of clinical difficulty because of the lack of immune reaction, whereas allogenic tooth transplantations easily induce host immune rejection to donor tissues. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the replacement of donor tissue by host cells after allogenic tooth transplantation MATERIALS AND METHODS: First molars extracted from lacZ transgenic ROSA26 mice were transplanted into the alveolar socket and the tongue of host wildtype mice, where the first molar had existed. RESULTS: Donor cells from lacZ transgenic mice were not detected in the periodontal ligament space, but rather in the pulp chamber of the donor tooth. Furthermore, if the pulp chamber was widely open to an affluent blood supply, odontoblasts and fibroblasts in the donor tissue survived in the dental pulp. CONCLUSIONS: Our experimental models using lacZ transgenic ROSA26 mice clearly demonstrate that donor periodontal tissue cells are replaced by host cells and that periodontal tissue can regenerate after allogenic tooth transplantation. Furthermore, our models suggest that donor pulpal cells can survive if the vascular supply into the pulp chamber is sufficient.