STEM CELL TRANSPLANT MAY OFFER A NEW TOOL IN ADVANCED PERIODONTITIS TREATMENT
STEM CELL TRANSPLANT MAY OFFER A NEW TOOL IN ADVANCED PERIODONTITIS TREATMENT Periodontal ligament stem cells (PDLSC) taken from one area of a test subject and transplanted to another area shows promise as a future therapy for periodontitis. A study
STEM CELL TRANSPLANT MAY OFFER A NEW TOOL IN ADVANCED PERIODONTITIS TREATMENT
Periodontal ligament stem cells (PDLSC) taken from one area of a test subject and transplanted to another area shows promise as a future therapy for periodontitis. A study led by researchers in Seoul, South Korea, found that transplanted PDLSCs outperformed dental pulp stem cells and apical follicular stem cells for regenerating tissue in the periodontal ligament of test subjects.
Progress has occurred slowly in establishing effective regenerative treatment that can be applied for periodontal diseases in clinical periodontics. Current methods—such as guided tissue regeneration or topical application of certain growth factors—have yielded some success in regenerating tissues lost to periodontal diseases, but with widely varied results. Success for these treatments often depends on the amount of alveolar bone and periodontal ligament that remains around an area in which the disease has caused a defect. Likewise, efforts to develop therapies for regenerating areas of periodontal defect associated with apical involvement have been largely ineffective, and such conditions often leave tooth extraction as the only therapeutic approach.
The South Korea-based research, however, paints a hopeful picture. The findings demonstrate that transplanted PDLSCs generate new cementum and Sharpey’s fiber of the periodontal ligament and alveolar bone. The study also reveals regenerated tissues formed by the transplanted PDLSCs exhibited quality and quantity superior to other types of dental cells.
“PDLSCs made more calcium nodules and showed higher alkaline phosphatase activity than the other two stem cell varieties,” says the study’s corresponding author, Pill-Hoon Choung, MSD, PhD, of the Seoul National University School of Dentistry. Choung explains that the study, which used an animal model, was launched to gauge the effectiveness of transplanting an individual’s own stems cells in the treatment of advanced periodontitis.
Sources:
Efficacy of periodontal stem cell transplantation in the treatment of advanced periodontitis. Cell Transplantation. 2011;20(2):271-285. http://www.ingentaconnect.com/content/cog/ct/2011/00000020/00000002/art00011. Accessed April 13, 2011.
Cell Transplantation Center of Excellence for Aging and Brain Repair.
