US scientists have discovered that baby, or milk, teeth are a rich source of stem cells. Dr Songtao Shi, a researcher at the National Institutes of Health in Bethesda, Maryland, found that the dental pulp of baby teeth contain an abundance of high-quality stem cells, that may well be more versatile than stem cells obtained from other parts of the body, such as the bone marrow. Laboratory tests showed that stem cells derived from baby teeth proliferated more rapidly than those obtained from adult teeth and bone marrow. The researchers were also able to coax these stem cells to grow into nerve cells, fat cells and cells that produce dentin – the hard material in teeth that surrounds the pulp and is covered by enamel. Furthermore, tests on mice showed that the stem cells helped to form both bone and dentin. The transplanted stem cells also survived in the mouse brain, and began to take on some of the characteristics of nerve cells. Shi said of the findings: “If follow-up studies extend these initial findings, our discovery could supply a valuable source of stem cells for possible use in repairing damaged teeth, regenerating bone and possibly treating diseases involving nerve cell damage.”
SOURCE/REFERENCE: Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 2003;10.1073/pnas.0937635100. Published online before print 25th April 2003.
