Autophagy in Oral Tissue Regeneration: A Comprehensive Review

The oral cavity is a unique environment that requires constant remodeling and regeneration. Autophagy plays a crucial role in oral tissue regeneration, as well as in controlling the burden of infectious agents, limiting inflammatory pathologies, regulating cell differentiation, and coordinating immunity. Oral diseases are often caused by bacterial infections, making autophagy a significant factor in preventing and treating such diseases. While many studies have explored the relationship between autophagy and oral diseases, no systematic reviews have been conducted on the role of autophagy in oral tissue regeneration.

In this review, we focus on how autophagy contributes to stem cell regulation and oral tissue regeneration. We discuss the role of autophagy in alleviating the survival stress of oral stem cells and provide an overview of the autophagy machinery in eukaryotes. We also review how autophagy contributes to different components of oral tissue regeneration and introduce the molecular mechanisms involved in autophagy-regulated oral tissue regeneration. We discuss ways to regulate autophagy using small molecule drugs, biomaterials, exosomes/RNAs, or other specific treatments. Finally, we explore new perspectives on autophagy manipulation and oral tissue regeneration.

While much is still unclear about how autophagy contributes to oral tissue regeneration, our review provides valuable insights for further studies into autophagy and other tissue regeneration. Mechanistic studies are still necessary to address many questions for therapeutic purposes. We hope that this review will contribute to a better understanding of the relationship between autophagy and oral tissue regeneration and provide new insights into human tissue regeneration.