Autophagy: Key to Oral Tissue Regeneration Through Stem Cell Regulation

Stem cells are essential for regenerating various types of tissues, including oral tissues. The autophagy pathway is crucial for maintaining and regulating the fundamental properties of stem cells, such as survival, quiescence, self-renewal, differentiation, proliferation, senescence, and paracrine function. Additionally, autophagy protects stem cells from harsh environmental stimuli, which is particularly important in injured oral tissues that are exposed to complex and harsh inflammatory, immune, and mechanical environments. Autophagy helps alleviate the survival stress of stem cells by activating multiple signaling pathways, thereby enabling stem cells to eliminate stress factors. However, if the damage to the cell is severe, or if the cell cannot be repaired, autophagy-induced cell death/apoptosis contributes to cell clearance. This improvement/ removal process is crucial for tissue regeneration. Further research on manipulating autophagy to optimize stem cell stemness and metabolism is crucial for improving oral tissue regeneration outcomes (Figure 2).