New Delhi: Japanese researchers have identified two distinct stem cell lineages that drive tooth root and alveolar bone formation, offering key insights for future regenerative dental therapies. The ability to regenerate lost teeth and their surrounding bones is considered a holy grail in the field of dentistry. The researchers, thus, identified a previously unknown mesenchymal progenitor cell population and uncovered two distinct lineages: one strongly associated with tooth root development and the other with alveolar bone formation. These cells express CXCL12, a protein that plays a key role in bone formation within bone marrow. Together, the findings advance the understanding of how teeth and alveolar bone develop in vivo, providing some much-needed clues about their intricate growing mechanisms, the team said.