Advances in signal pathways related to pulp regeneration mediated by exosomes

Exosomes are a kind of extracellular vesicles, which directly stimulate target cells through receptor-mediated interaction, or exert their biological functions by transferring various bioactive molecules to target cells, playing a key role in intercellular communication between cells and their microenvironment. From the perspective of tissue engineering, pulp regeneration refers to the combination of scaffolds, stem cells, and signaling factors implanted into a properly treated pulp cavity. Under the action of scaffolds and signaling factors, stem cells proliferate and differentiate to form pulp dentin-like complexes, restoring pulp function. In recent years, studies have found that p38MAPK, TGF-β/SMAD, Wnt/β-Catenin signaling pathway and some other signaling pathways are important for the secretion in regulating pulp regeneration, and play a key role in pulp regeneration. Therefore, this article reviews the mechanism and research progress of signaling pathways related to the regulation of pulp regeneration by exosomes.