Create dental germs from ... urine

After an initial successful test in mice, Chinese scientists believe that stem cells derived from urine can help humans re-grow lost teeth.

Researchers from the Chinese Academy of Sciences have created tooth-like structures in mice and hope that these biotech "germs " could one day be implanted into the teeth of a leper. .

The primitive tooth-like structure mentioned above is the first solid tissue to be developed thanks to a technique that stimulates the discarded cells from the urine of the transformed person to become stem cells. Later, the team used a new tissue culture system to make these stem cells develop into tiny tooth-like structures and implants for mice.

The basis for the entire trial is the result of many previous studies, which found that cells removed in human waste can be stimulated to become pluripotent stem cells (iPSC). . The iPSCs can then create many different types of cells, including nerve cells and cardiac muscle cells.

Chinese scientists have created teeth-like structures in mice.(Photo: Getty Images)

According to Cell Regeneration Journal, artificial dental germs are the first hard organs or tissues formed from iPSCs. In particular, the iPSC has been forced to develop in the direction of simulating 2 different types of cells: epithelial cells that help form tooth enamel and mesenchymal cells to help create 3 other components of the tooth (including dentin, bone covered root and root canal).

First, the team created flat epithelial cells, then mixed them with the embryonic mesenchymal cells of the mouse. The final product was transplanted for mice and 3 weeks later, the tooth-like structures began to appear.

Dr. Duanqing Pei, a member of the research team, said: "These primitive teeth components have the same structure and appearance as human teeth . However, our method still has some limitations, namely, related to mouse cells, having a success rate of about 30% and the resulting structures only have a hardness of 1/3 of human teeth ".

The team hopes that changing cell mixtures and conditions of cultured tissue can overcome these problems. They stressed: "In theory, the improved method could create a biotech dental germ, then cultivate it in vitro and then transplant it into the jaw bone of the patient to develop into a tooth. Full function ".