Scientists in China claim they have created a human tooth from stem cells taken from urine.
The researchers who participated in this experiment say that the technique could be used to replace teeth lost due to age or other factors; it also has the advantage of taking stem cells from a less controversial source than human embryos.
The Guangzhow Institute of Biomedicine and Health team extracted cells from the urine and manipulated them to make stem cells. They then implanted them into the tooth-like structures in mice, and said the end result of the cells contained dentin and enamel.
The report, published in the Cell Regeneration Journal, states that this could lead to further studies that result in «the ultimate dream of total tooth regeneration.»
However the project has drawn criticism and not just because it had a 30% success rate. Professor Chris Mason, a stem cell scientist at University College London, told the BBC that urine was probably one of the worst sources for obtaining stem cells. He said: “There are very few cells and the efficiency of making stem cells is very low. It’s a bad way to proceed.»
Mason also said that the risk of contamination was much higher than with other sources of cells, and that there is a long way to go before science can integrate nerves and blood into new teeth.
[The Independent]
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