Researchers in China have grown rudimentary teeth using the stem cells from human urine; the results of the breakthrough were published in the Cell Regeneration Journal and the team are hoping that this technique could pave the way for treating tooth loss permanently. Stem cells are a popular starting point for this kind of work because they can be grown into any type of bodily tissue and the team at the Guangzhou Institute of Biomedicine and Health are using urine to collect these cells.
A mixture of the cells from urine and other material were implanted into animals and researchers said that after three weeks the bundle of cells began to resemble a tooth, explaining that ‘the tooth-like structure contained dental pulp, dentin, enamel space, and enamel organ.’ – although the new teeth were not as hard as real ones. As the experiments are just in the first stages, the team are hoping that further research will lead to ‘the final dream of total regeneration of human teeth for clinical therapy.’
However, scientists in the UK are not feeling as positive about the use of urine to rebuild teeth; Professor Chris Mason, a stem cell researcher at University College London, said that ‘[Urine] is probably one of the worst sources, there are very few cells in the first place and the efficiency of turning them into stem cells is very low. You just wouldn’t do it in this way.’ He also added ‘The big challenge here is that teeth have got a pulp with nerve and blood vessels which have to make sure they integrate to get permanent teeth.’