Turn fat into teeth? Easy!
Teeth from stem cells
Stemcells.Ru
Morphogenesis and differentiation of dental rudiments are regulated by complex interactions between mesenchymal stem cells of the cranial neural cross and the epithelium of the oral cavity.
Italian scientists from the University of Udine in their study showed that a population of mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) obtained from a single cell in vitro can be differentiated into a structure resembling a dental rudiment.
Scientists incubated the primary culture of mesenchymal stem cells derived from human adipose tissue in an environment that induces differentiation of SC into cells forming the rudiment of a tooth. The formed three-dimensional clusters of cells continued to be cultured for another 4 weeks. The resulting structure was similar to the rudiment of a tooth.
Using various methods of analysis, the expression of markers characteristic of tooth tissues was established. In the differentiation-inducing medium, the cells expressed markers of ameloblasts and odontoblasts, as well as matrix RNAs and proteins characteristic of them. In addition, in accordance with the location of the cells, the expression of markers of the main membrane, as well as epithelial and mesenchymal markers, similar to the expression of markers in normal physiological morphogenesis of the tooth, was detected.
Physico-chemical analysis revealed 200-nm and 50-nm correctly oriented hydroxyapatite crystals corresponding to the structure, respectively, of enamel and dentin invivo.
Thus, the results of this study suggest that stem cells isolated from adipose tissue in vitro, even in the absence of a specific structural matrix or substrate, are capable of differentiation into specialized cells organized into a three-dimensional structure phenotypically similar to the rudiment of a tooth.
The research materials are presented in the article Ferro et al. Adipose tissue-derived stem cell in vitro differentiation in a three-dimensional dental bud structure // Am J Pathol. 2011 May; 178(5):2299-310.
Portal "Eternal youth" http://vechnayamolodost.ru18.05.2011