New research published in the Journal of Dental Research describes an advance in efforts to develop a method to replace missing teeth with new bioengineered teeth generated from a persons own gum cells. The research is led by Professor Paul Sharpe, an expert in craniofacial development and stem cell biology at Kings College Londons Dental Institute, and was funded by the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) Biomedical Research Centre at Guy's and St Thomas' NHS Foundation Trust and King's College London, UK. Current implant-based methods of whole tooth replacement fail to reproduce a natural root structure and as a consequence of the friction from eating and other jaw movement, loss of jaw bone can occur around the implant. Research towards achieving the aim of producing bioengineered teeth (bioteeth) has largely focused on the generation of immature teeth (teeth primordia) that mimic those in the embryo that can be transplanted as small cell 'pellets' into the adult jaw to develop into functional teeth. Remarkably, despite the very different environments, embryonic teeth primordia can develop normally in the adult mouth and thus if suitable cells can be identified that can be combined in such a way to produce an immature tooth, … Continue reading →

Mar. 12, 2013 A research team of the University of Freiburg has elucidated the molecular control mechanisms that transform the initially tightly cohesive earliest cells of the zebrafish embryo so that the first major cell migration in their development is initiated. The researchers from the Department of Developmental Biology of the Institute of Biology I, the Center for Biological Systems Analysis, and BIOSS Centre for Biological Signalling Studies, the Cluster of Excellence of the University of Freiburg, under the direction of Prof. Dr. Wolfgang Driever have published the results in the current issue of the scientific journal Developmental Cell. A better understanding of cell migration is of high biomedical relevance. Whereas for a healthy human or animal body cell movements are for example essential for wound healing, it may be lethal when cancer cells start to migrate into the body and induce metastases. Cell migration can be studied especially well during embryogenesis of model organisms such as the zebrafish, because it develops in the water, and the movements of each cell can be observed under the microscope. Following fertilization of the egg, during the next cell divisions all cells of the embryo have to stick together tightly. Otherwise the embryo … Continue reading →

Biologists at King's College London have combined human and mouse tissue to create bioteeth which can form true roots. The research was exploring ways to generate immature teeth (sometimes called tooth primordia) which mimic those found in human embryos. The immature teeth take the form of cell pellets which can then be transplanted into an adult jaw where they develop normally into functional teeth. According to Paul Sharpe, an expert in craniofacial development and stem cell biology at King's College London: "Epithelial cells derived from adult human gum tissue are capable of responding to tooth inducing signals from embryonic tooth mesenchyme in an appropriate way to contribute to tooth crown and root formation and give rise to relevant differentiated cell types, following in vitro culture." What that basically means is that mouse mesenchyme (a type of undifferentiated connective tissue) can be combined with epithelial cells created using human gum tissue. The mesenchyme can then tell the rest of the cells when to start creating a tooth and the result is little tooth seeds which can grow to form real teeth with real roots. Or at least 20 percent of them can given a combination of in vitro culture and, after … Continue reading →

March 11, 2013 Lee Rannals for redOrbit.com Your Universe Online A new technique developed by an expert in craniofacial development and stem cell biology at Kings College London and his colleagues offers up a new type of tooth replacement. The scientists wrote in the Journal of Dental Research about how they developed a new method of replacing missing teeth with a bioengineered material enervated from a persons own gum cells. Current methods for replacing teeth fail to reproduce a natural root structure, leading to loss of jaw bone due to eating and other jaw movements. This new way of bioengineering teeth with gum cells aims to put an end to this problem. What is required is the identification of adult sources of human epithelial and mesenchymal cells that can be obtained in sufficient numbers to make biotooth formation a viable alternative to dental implants, said Professor Paul Sharpe, lead researcher on the project. During the research, the team isolated human gum tissue from patients at the Dental Institute at Kings College London, and then grew more of it in the lab. After this, they combined the tissue with the cells of mice that form teeth. By translating this combination of … Continue reading →

Alternatives to knee replacement, stem cells and fibroblast growth factor http://www.stemcellsarthritistreatment.com In our series on alternatives to knee replacement, I want to discuss more components of cartilage repair. In addit... By: Nathan Wei … Continue reading →

Public release date: 12-Mar-2013 [ | E-mail | Share ] Contact: Stephanie Desmon sdesmon1@jhmi.edu 410-955-8665 Johns Hopkins Medicine In laboratory studies, Johns Hopkins researchers say they have found that stem cells from a patient's own fat may have the potential to deliver new treatments directly into the brain after the surgical removal of a glioblastoma, the most common and aggressive form of brain tumor. The investigators say so-called mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) have an unexplained ability to seek out damaged cells, such as those involved in cancer, and may provide clinicians a new tool for accessing difficult-to-reach parts of the brain where cancer cells can hide and proliferate anew. The researchers say harvesting MSCs from fat is less invasive and less expensive than getting them from bone marrow, a more commonly studied method. Results of the Johns Hopkins proof-of-principle study are described online in the journal PLOS ONE. "The biggest challenge in brain cancer is the migration of cancer cells. Even when we remove the tumor, some of the cells have already slipped away and are causing damage somewhere else," says study leader Alfredo Quinones-Hinojosa, M.D., a professor of neurosurgery, oncology and neuroscience at the Johns Hopkins University School of … Continue reading →