Japanese researchers 'grow' teeth in mice
Japanese researchers have successfully implanted bioengineered
seed-like tissue into the jaws of mice, growing new teeth for the
rodents, according to a study published Monday.
The study, presented in the Proceedings of the National Academy of
Sciences demonstrates a technique that could be used to replace other
organs.
Biologists have previously cultivated limited tissue in a laboratory
and successfully transplanted it into animals.
But the researchers, led by Etsuko Ikeda of the Tokyo University of
Science, "explored ways to grow a three-dimensional organ in place,
starting with teeth," the report said. "The researchers developed a
bioengineered tooth germ, which is a seed-like tissue containing the
cells and instructions necessary to form a tooth, and transplanted the
germ into the jawbones of mice," it said.
"The authors report that the germs regularly grew into replacement
teeth," the report said.
The researchers were able to grow the teeth in gums that had
previously held milk and adult teeth and successfully repeated the
procedure on multiple occasions, producing teeth hard enough to chew
food.
"Our study provides the first evidence of a successful replacement of
an entire and fully functioning organ in an adult body through the
transplantation of bioengineered organ germ, reconstituted by single
cell manipulation in vitro," said Takasha Tsuji, one of the study's
authors and a professor at Tokyo University of Science.
The researchers said their method could provide "a model for future
organ replacement therapy."
They hope that scientists will eventually be able to use the
technique to "develop fully functioning bioengineered organs that can
replace lost or damaged organs following disease, injury or aging," the
study said.
AFP
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