Introduction: Dental pulp fibroblasts (DPFs) are the most abundant cell type in the dental pulp. They play pivotal roles; however, they are often mistaken to be involved only in the repair and maintenance of this connective tissue.
Methods: We used the search terms "pulp fibroblast," "complement system proteins," "pulp inflammation," "angiogenesis," and "dentin pulp regeneration" to identify articles from the PubMed and Scopus databases.
Results: These sentinel cells produce all complement system proteins participating in defense processes, control of inflammation, and dentin-pulp regeneration; produce several proinflammatory cytokines and chemokines and express pattern-recognition receptors, demonstrating their involvement in immunoregulatory mechanisms; express neuropeptides and their receptors, playing an important role in neurogenic inflammation and dental pulp wound healing; secrete angiogenic growth factors as well as neurotrophic proteins, essential for dentin-pulp regeneration; regulate neuronal plasticity processes; and can sense the external environment.
Conclusions: This review highlights that DPFs are more than mere passive cells in pulp biology and presents an integrative analysis of their roles and functions.
Keywords: Complement system proteins; dental pulp; dental pulp disease; fibroblasts; regenerative endodontics.
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