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Tooth Regeneration: Grow Your Teeth Like an Alligator!
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This is a very interesting approach to teeth regeneration, especially because it is intended to be performed in vivo.

Dr. Duanqing Pei and his team from the Chinese Academy of Sciences and Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Stem Cell Biology and Regenerative Medicine have described a method of using stem cells in order to regenerate human teeth. The stem cells they used in this process were isolated from urine, which is a very preferable option for many reasons. First, obtaining stem cells from urine is very easy and non-invasive, and second, those are somatic stem cells which are known to be much less susceptible to tumor formation than embryonic stem cells. The tooth would be grown from stem cells of the same person, so there would be no rejection related problems.

This team succeeded to transform urine stem cells into pluripotent stem cells in their lab, and then the cells were implanted into mice. After three weeks, there were new structures noticeable that looked like teeth. They had dentin, pulp, and enamel. It was a good start, but the teeth were not as hard as normal teeth and they missed nerves and blood vessels. Obviously, more research in this field has to be done.

There are some controversial opinions about using urine stem cells for this purpose. Prof Chris Mason from University College London suggested that urine stem cells can be the source of contamination and that their efficacy is not strong enough. He also pointed out that these cells are not so common in urine, so that makes them less favorable option.
However, stem cells have promising future in teeth replacement. There are many new approaches on the horizon such as 3D printing. Scientists are hoping to use 3D printed teeth with stem cells as a base for stem cells growth. That way, the stem cells could eventually replace the artificial material, building a proper replacement for human teeth.
Sasa Milosevic
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RE: Tooth Regeneration: Grow Your Teeth Like an Alligator! - by sale0303 - 09-30-2013, 06:15 PM



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