Researchers take important step towards development of biological dental enamel
Date:
April 21, 2022
Source:
KU Leuven
Summary:
To this day, cavities and damage to enamel are repaired by dentists
with the help of synthetic white filling materials. There is no
natural alternative to this. But a new 3D model with human dental
stem cells could change this in the future.
FULL STORY ==========================================================================
To this day, cavities and damage to enamel are repaired by dentists
with the help of synthetic white filling materials. There is no natural alternative to this. But a new 3D model with human dental stem cells
could change this in the future. The results of the research led by KU
Leuven Professor Hugo Vankelecom and Professor Annelies Bronckaers from UHasselt have been published in Cellular and Molecular Life Sciences.
==========================================================================
Our teeth are very important in everyday activities such as eating
and speaking, as well as for our self-esteem and psychological
well-being. There is relatively little known about human teeth. An
important reason is that certain human dental stem cells, unlike
those of rodents, are difficult to grow in the lab. That's why the KU
Leuven team of Professor Hugo Vankelecom, in cooperation with UHasselt, developed a 3D research model with stem cells from the dental follicle,
a membraneous tissue surrounding unerupted human teeth.
"The advantage of this type of 3D model is that it reliably reproduces
the stem cells' original properties. We can recreate a small piece
of our body in the lab, so to speak, and use it as a research model,"
says Professor Vankelecom.
"By using dental stem cells, we can develop other dental cells with this
model, such as ameloblasts that are responsible for enamel formation." Biological filling material Each day, our teeth are exposed to acids
and sugars from food that can cause damage to our enamel. Enamel cannot regenerate, which makes an intervention by the dentist necessary. The
latter has to fill any possible cavities with synthetic materials. "In
our new model, we have managed to turn dental stem cells into ameloblasts
that produce enamel components, which can eventually lead to biological
enamel. That enamel could be used as a natural filling material to repair dental enamel, explains doctoral student Lara Hemeryck. "The advantage
is that in this way, the physiology and function of the dental tissue
is repaired naturally, while this is not the case for synthetic materials.
Furthermore, there would be less risk of tooth necrosis, which can occur
at the contact surface when using synthetic materials." Impact in many
sectors Not only dentists would be able to help their patients with this biological filling material. The 3D cell model can have applications
in other sectors as well. For example, it could help the food industry
to examine the effect of particular food products on dental enamel, or toothpaste manufacturers to optimise protection and care. "In addition,
we want to combine this model with other types of dental stem cells to
develop still other tooth structures, and eventually an entire biological tooth. Now, we focused on ameloblasts, but our new model clearly opens up various possibilities for further research and countless applications," concludes Professor Vankelecom
========================================================================== Story Source: Materials provided by KU_Leuven. Original written by Nena Testelmans. Note: Content may be edited for style and length.
========================================================================== Journal Reference:
1. Lara Hemeryck, Florian Hermans, Joel Chappell, Hiroto Kobayashi,
Diether
Lambrechts, Ivo Lambrichts, Annelies Bronckaers, Hugo Vankelecom.
Organoids from human tooth showing epithelial stemness phenotype
and differentiation potential. Cellular and Molecular Life Sciences,
2022; 79 (3) DOI: 10.1007/s00018-022-04183-8 ==========================================================================
Link to news story:
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2022/04/220421094131.htm
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