© flickr & Alice Rosen
抜けてしまった歯を,幹細胞を使って元の場所に固定する方法がラットの実験で成功した。この実験では,マウスの臼歯の歯周靱帯から幹細胞を得て,ラットの抜けた歯の固定に用いた。培養したマウスの幹細胞は,抜歯したラットの臼歯に植え付けられ,この臼歯は生えていた場所に再び差し込まれた。すると数カ月で歯と骨がしっかり固定された。幹細胞を使わないで差し込んだ場合は,歯がグラグラしたり抜けたりした。幹細胞を使うことに加え,自然の歯の表面構造が今回のような固定に重要な役割を果たすという。外傷により抜けた歯の治療などに応用が期待される。(吉田素子)
A new approach to anchor teeth back in the jaw using stem cells(1) has been developed and successfully(2) tested in the laboratory(3) for the first time by researchers(4) at the University of Illinois at Chicago.
The new strategy(5) represents a potential major advance in the battle against gum disease(6), a serious infection(7) that eventually leads to(8) tooth loss(9). About 80 percent of U.S. adults suffer from(10) gum disease, according to(11) the National Institute of Dental(12) and Craniofacial(13) Research.
Researchers in UIC(14)'s Brodie Laboratory for Craniofacial Genetics(15) used stem cells obtained from the periodontal ligament(16) of molars(17) extracted(18) from mice(19), expanded(20) them in an incubator(21), and then seeded(22) them on barren(23) rat(24) molars. The stem cell-treated molars were reinserted(25) into the tooth sockets(26) of rats.
After two and four months, the stem cells aligned(27) and formed new fibrous(28) attachments(29) between the tooth and bone, firmly(30) attaching the replanted(31) tooth into the animal's mouth, said Smit Dangaria, a bioengineering(32) doctoral candidate(33) who conducted the research. Tissue sections(34) showed that the replanted tooth was surrounded by newly formed, functional(35) periodontal ligament fibers(36) and new cementum(37), the essential ingredients(38) of a healthy tooth attachment.
In contrast(39), tooth molars that were replanted without new stem/progenitor cells(40) were either lost or loosely(41) attached and were resorbed(42), Dangaria said.
The study, published in an online issue(43) of the journal Tissue Engineering(44), was funded through a grant by the National Institutes of Health(45).
Dangaria said the natural surface of the tooth played an essential role in(46) the study.
(1) 幹細胞 (2) 成功裏に (3) 実験室レベルで (4) 研究者 (5) 方法 (6) 歯周病 (7) 感染(症)
(8) ~につながる (9) 歯牙喪失(歯を失うこと) (10) ~を患う (11) ~によると (12) 歯の
(13) 頭蓋顔面の (14) イリノイ大学シカゴ校(University of Illinois at Chicagoの略) (15) 遺伝学
(16) 歯根膜(歯周靱帯) (17) 臼歯 (18) 引き抜いた(抜歯した) (19) マウス (20) ~を増殖させた
(21) 培養器 (22) ~を播いた (23) 不毛の (24) ラット (25) 再び差し入れられた (26) 歯槽
(27) 整列した (28) 線維性の (29) 連結 (30) しっかりと (31) 再移植された (32) 生物工学
(33) 博士号の取得候補者 (34) 組織切片 (35) 機能する (36) 線維 (37) セメント質
(38) 必須要素 (39) 一方 (40) 前駆細胞 (41) ゆるく (42) 再吸収された (43) オンライン版
(44) 組織工学(Tissue Engineeringは雑誌名) (45) 国立衛生研究所 (46) ~に重要な役割を果たした