In Vitro Studies on Odontogenic Tumors

Ameloblastomas are uncommon benign neoplasms of the jaws. They originate from dental epithelial cells, but they are not capable of mineralizing or forming enamel. The study of these tumors is limited to live tissue collected from patients during scheduled surgery. Ameloblastomas grow slowly in vivo and this property is translated to their behavior in vitro. Here, we describe the methods to culture ameloblastomas in organotypic cultures, as well as to isolate stem/progenitor cells from these tumors.