Stem Cell-Based Regeneration of Salivary Glands: From Bench to Clinics

Exocrine gland regeneration, particularly salivary gland regeneration, remains an exciting arena for the scientific world due to its crucial role in maintaining human health. Salivary gland cells produce saliva, which lubricates the oral cavity, maintains the pH, partially or wholly digests complex nutrients, and provides the first line of defense against pathogens. Thus, its damage can be debilitating to the oral as well as the general health of an individual, compromising their quality of life. Most commonly, this impairment is due to autoimmune diseases such as Sjogren’s syndrome or off-target radiation effects during radiotherapy, where the dry mouth condition clinically can be 100% in these patients, with an average prevalence of 64.8% of the whole population. This chapter combines the latest theories and proof of concepts for salivary gland regeneration using stem cells and their secretome. Also, this chapter describes various stem cells’ derivation and characterization, followed by a comprehensive discussion of the latest salivary gland regenerative strategies being tested in preclinical and clinical studies.