Child teeth could be a source of stem
cells |
Scientists
have found another source of stem cells for research - the pulp of a
child's first set of teeth.
The finding, by dental researchers in the US, could further fuel
the debate over the need for such cells to be taken from human
embryos.
Stem cells are the body's "master cells" - they have the
potential to develop into a wide variety of different types of
cells.
Many scientists hope that they will one day be able to use stem
cells to replace vital tissues lost through disease or injury.
 The stem cells in the tooth are likely
latent remnants of an early developmental process 
Dr Songtao Shi, National Institute of Dental and
Craniofacial Research |
Currently, the
undeveloped embryo offers stem cells in their purest form.
However, there is fierce ethical opposition to these experiments,
and many scientists are looking for an alternative source.
The latest research, published in the Proceedings of the National
Academy of Sciences, involves cells extracted from the pulp of
deciduous, or "baby" teeth, which normally fall out around the age
of six or seven.
Daughter's teeth
Dr Songtao Shi, from the National Institute of Dental and
Craniofacial Research, said that the cells they found had the
ability to be manipulated in the laboratory to form bone, dentine
(tooth) and even nerve cells.
It is the latter that is likely to be of most interest to
researchers, as the hope is that neuronal stem cells will one day be
able to help treat nerve damage.
The teeth in question were retrieved from Dr Shi's daughter
Julia.
He said: "Once it was out, we sat and looked carefully at the
tooth."
Seeing some red-coloured tissue, he extracted it and went to
examine it in the laboratory, and managed to extract living stem
cells from it.
Umbilical supply
Further experiments on baby teeth retrieved from other children
as nature took its course, revealed more cells which had the ability
to grow in laboratory culture.
He said: "Doctors have successfully harvested stem cells from
umbilical cord blood for years.
"Our finding is similar in some ways, in that the stem cells in
the tooth are likely latent remnants of an early developmental
process."
Professor Peter Andrews, a stem cell researcher from the
University of Sheffield, said the finding was "plausible", probably
the result of the same process which allowed certain stem cells to
be extracted from bone marrow.
He said that the embryo remained the most practical current
source of stem cells.
He said: "They are the best defined and characterised - and we
know how they can be turned into lots of different things.
"They remain the cells about which we know the most."
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