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"Long
before it's in the papers" RETURN TO THE WORLD SCIENCE HOME PAGE Scientists report growing new teeth for mice, in place Aug. 3, 2009 Researchers say they have engineered the growth of fully functional replacement teeth in mice, with the growth occurring in the tooth’s proper place. A glowing tooth regenerated in an adult
mouse mouth. (Image courtesy Takashi Tsuji, PhD., Tokyo University of
Science, Organ Technologies Inc.) Send us a comment
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Researchers say they have engineered the growth of fully functional replacement teeth in mice, with the growth occurring in the tooth’s proper place. Technology exists to develop limited tissues in the lab that can be transplanted into animals, but Etsuko Ikeda of Tokyo University of Science in Chiba, Japan and colleagues explored ways to grow a three-dimensional organ in place. The work could serve as a prelude to other organ replacements using a similar technique, they proposed. The researchers developed a bioengineered tooth germ, a seed-like tissue containing the cells and genetic instructions necessary to form a tooth. They then transplanted the germ into the jawbones of mice. The germs regularly grew into replacement teeth, the investigators said. Tracking gene activity in the transplanted germ with a fluorescent glowing protein, the researchers found that genes normally activated in tooth development were also active during the engineered replacement’s growth. The engineered tooth’s hardness was comparable to that of natural teeth, and nerve fibers could grow throughout and respond to pain stimulation, they also found. The results are reported in this week’s early online edition of the research journal pnas. “We propose this technology as a model for future organ replacement therapies,” the researchers wrote. |
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