Dental News - Blood vessel cells aid tissue repair in teeth

Daniel Zimmermann, DTI

Tue. 10 May 2011

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NEW YORK, NY, USA/LEIPZIG, Germany: Research presented at the first global symposium for dental stem cell research in New York could mean a new breakthrough in tissue and organ repair. In an experiment involving rodent incisors, researchers from the UK, Brazil and the US found that connective tissue cells, usually found in small blood vessels, can transform into specialised cells to repair damaged tissue.

Previous research suggested that so-called pericytes have the potential to transform into different cells. This new study is the first claiming to have found genetic evidence that pericytes can also act as stem cells. In the experiment, they transformed into tooth cells to regenerate lost or damaged tissue.

“This is the first time perivascular cells have been shown to differentiate into specialised cells during a natural repair process,“ says Prof. Paul Sharpe from the Department of Craniofacial Development in the Dental Institute at King’s College London, who led the study. “In addition to the obvious significance for understanding the cellular mechanisms of tissue repair, it also has wider implications for areas of regenerative medicine/dentistry directed towards stimulating natural repair following tissue damage or disease.”

The results have been published in the latest issue of Proceedings of the National Academy of Science, a journal based in the UK.

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