Adults lose teeth due to poor hygiene, aging, disease or accidents. Traditionally, prosthetics are used to replace part or all of a lost tooth. But wouldn’t it be better if we could simply regrow lost or damaged teeth? Approaches using stem cells, while still in their infancy, may eventually do exactly that.
The story is based on a laboratory study that used pluripotent stem cells generated from human urine cells to grow teeth-like structures in a group of mice. Pluripotent stem cells have the potential to develop into any type of body cell. These stem cells were then combined with early dental tissue obtained from mouse embryos and then transplanted into the bodies of mice. The study was published in Cell Regeneration Journal on July 30.
The researchers said the tooth-like structures had dental pulp, dentin, enamel space and an enamel organ, but they were not as hard as natural teeth. This wouldn't make them a viable way to grow teeth right now, but future research may lead to that one day.
It's not entirely a new approach, but sourcing stem cells from urine to grow teeth? That is a new suggestion. And there are advantages to such an approach. For one, the method would be non-invasive, low cost, and non-surgical. And it would use somatic cells (instead of embryonic) that are flushed down the toilet daily. Even better, urine-derived stem cells do not form tumors when transplanted in the body unlike other stem cells. And of course, sourcing cells from the patient’s own body reduces the likelihood of rejection.
Cell biologist Prof Chris Mason at University College London told the BBC that urine is “possibly one of the worst sources” for stem cells because of the low numbers present, low efficiency, and the risk of contamination. Dr. Pei countered the last complaint, explaining, “From our experience, if you look at midstream urine, it’s sterile. We have never encountered any type of bacterial infection.”
Much more research will need to go into developing the technique before it can be seen whether one day it could have the potential for tooth regeneration in humans. This will include more research to make sure that lab-grown teeth can resemble and function like regular human teeth and whether lab-grown teeth are both safe and effective in the long-term.
This is an exciting possibility, but it still doesn't take us away from taking care of ourselves day to day, We still have to take responsibility to take care of us. This means exercising, eating right and taking care of our teeth in an appropriate way."
See Also : Endodontic Diploma
Register here For more information & diplomas
Contacts: 9 abbas el-akkad street, nassr city, Cairo, Egypt
Tel: (+202) 24010655
Cell phone: (+2) 01143050023
Call phone: (+2) 01024212175
E-mail: info@spc-eg.com
ليست هناك تعليقات:
إرسال تعليق