Stem cells in tooth pulp could be used in research

doi:10.1136/bmj.326.7396.950/b

BMJ 2003;326:950 ( 3 May )

News roundup

Stem cells in tooth pulp could be used in research

Nebraska Deborah Josefson

Researchers from the United States and Australia have found that deciduous teeth have robust stem cells in their dental pulp. The finding is important, because such teeth may serve as an easily obtainable alternative to embryonic stem cells, the use of which has proved controversial.

Moreover, like umbilical cord blood, they may serve as a ready source of autologous and bankable stem cells, the study says (published online before print in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Science of the United States of America, www.pnas.org).

Stem cells have the ability to differentiate into a wide variety of cell types. Theoretically they can be grown into various organs, as well as into nerve, bone, or haematopoeitic cells.

The researchers, led by Dr Songtao Shi, a paediatric dentist based at the National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research, Bethesda, Maryland, isolated stem cells from . . . [Full text of this article]

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