Bioengineered tooth replacement using embryonic stem cells in mice

Fashion

Ikedaa, Etsuko. (2009, et al.). Fully functional bioengineered tooth replacement as an organ replacement therapy. PNAS. 106 (32): 113475-113480. Retrieved November 4, 2010 at http://www.pnas.org/content/early/2009/07/31/0902944106.full.pdf+html

The process of using stem cells to develop fully functional new organs to replace damaged organs has many applications, including in the field of dentistry. In the experiment chronicled in the article "Fully functional bioengineered tooth replacement as an organ replacement therapy," a tooth was replaced in an adult mouse, using embryonic stem cells. The scientific justification for the value of the experiment was that "almost all organs arise from their respective germs through reciprocal interactions between the epithelium and mesenchyme in the developing embryo. Therefore, it is predicted that a functional bioengineered organ could be produced by reconstituting organ germs between epithelial and mesenchymal cells in vitro, although the existence of organ-inductive stem cells in the adult body has not been fully elucidated yet with the exception of hair follicles and the mammary gland" (Ikedaa 2009, p. 113475).

Materials and methods

The design of the article was that of an experimental research study. In the experiment, a 3-dimensional bioengineered tooth germ was 'grown' in a laboratory and then implanted into an appropriately-sized hole made in the alveolar bone of a mouse with a lost tooth. The 'seed' of a living tooth was used. Dental surgery was selected to try out the researchers' theories about stem cell growth because of the value such regenerative therapy could provide to the field of dentistry but also because "the loss of deciduous and permanent teeth is thought to properly reproduce the processes which occur during embryonic development" (Ikedaa 2009, p. 113475).

Conclusion

The ability to regenerate fully functional adult teeth could yield considerable improvement in the ease and lifestyle quality for individuals who would previously have to have dental implants.

Clinical

The clinical implications for the success of the study extend far beyond that of the field of dentistry. Stem cell therapy has the potential to restore the partial loss of organ function of neural cells in patients with Parkinson's disease and to generate new organs for individuals suffering other chronic illnesses that affect major organ systems.