Scientists from the Warsaw University of Technology (PW) in cooperation with the Medical University of Poznań have started a project checking whether it is possible to grow third teeth from stem cells located in the gums. The project ‘Biomimetic, biodegradable cell media for the differentiation of stem cells into osteoblasts and chondrocytes’ is funded under the ‘Initiative of Excellence – Research University’ program.

Dentists have noticed that the oral cavity has a very high regenerative potential. For example, in the place of a removed tooth, both the bone structure and the cartilage, epithelial structure and nerve tissues are rebuilt. Patients do not lose feeling within this part of the mandible or the palate.

“We hypothesized that the gum tissue is able to transform into other structures, especially a specific group of stem cells. We want to explore the possibilities of their use and find out what types of tissues can be made from them”, says project manager, Dr Eng. Agnieszka Gadomska-Gajadhur from the Faculty of Chemistry, Warsaw University of Technology.

The research will be carried out with a team from the University of Medical Sciences in Poznań, which will differentiate cells taken from porcine gums towards bone, cartilage or nervous tissue. The role of the PW team is to provide a carrier on which stem cells will be embedded and will be able to grow, transforming into tissue.

The scientists are planning to cooperate with centers abroad from Great Britain and the Czech Republic, which specialize in determining the characteristics of differentiated cells. If the part related to the nervous tissue also succeeds, there will be the possibility of growing individual neurons or fragments of nervous tissue. Scientists then see enormous potential for transplants, for example in the area of the spinal cord or peripheral nerves, within paralyzed fragments of the limbs.

“We are already thinking about a project related to stem cells that we would like to collect from dental patients. The situation forced us to use the porcine model, as we had an acute pandemic stage and fewer and fewer tooth extraction procedures were performed. We were afraid that we would get very little material and opted for the more accessible and human-like solution. Ultimately, however, we are thinking about a large European project. The answer in which direction we will go will be given by SteamScaf – says Dr Eng. Gadomska-Gajadhur.

Arkadiusz Słomczyński