Researchers Create Stem Cells From Wisdom Teeth

Japanese Scientists have found a way to derive stem cells from wisdom Teeth, researchers said. The announcement on Friday is promising news for yet another way to study deadly diseases without the ethical controversy of using embryos.

The government-backed National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology supported the study.

Researchers said they created stem cells of the type found in human embryos using the removed wisdom teeth of a 10-year-old girl.

Team leader Hajime Ogushi said the discovery was significant in two ways: "One is that we can avoid the ethical issues of stem cells because wisdom teeth are destined to be thrown away anyway.”

"Also, we used teeth that had been extracted three years ago and had been preserved in a freezer. That means that it’s easy for us to stock this source of stem cells."

Last year saw the groundbreaking discovery by US and Japanese scientists that stem cells could be produced from skin, a finding that was hailed by the Vatican and US President George W. Bush.

Embryonic stem cell research is seen as having the potential to save lives by helping find cures for diseases such as cancer and diabetes, as they can develop into various organs or nerves

However, religious conservatives are strongly opposed to studies on embryos, arguing that such research destroys human life, albeit at its earliest stage of development.

Cells were extracted from the wisdom teeth and developed for about 35 days during the new research study.

Ogushi said they were then tested and researchers found that they were stem cells, which can develop into various other kinds of human cells.

As with last year’s skin cell discovery, the Japanese researchers said it would take time to put the use of wisdom teeth into practical use.

It will take at least five years to put the method into clinical use such as trial treatments of congenital bone disease, Ogushi estimated.

"Because extractions of wisdom teeth are commonly operated in dental clinics, we can expect a lot of donors of stem cells," he said.

He said that would enable them to create stem cells of various genetic codes, eliminating the risk that a body of a patient would reject transplanted tissues or organs.

Ogushi said he was hopeful that the method would produce stem cells of various genetic codes — reducing the risk that patients’ bodies would reject transplanted tissues or organs.

In theory, they suggest that people who give up their wisdom teeth in their youth could use the stem cells later in life if they need treatment.

The Kyoto University team last year, led by Shinya Yamanaka, generated human stem cells by introducing four genes into a sample of human skin.

Ogushi introduced three of the four genes identified by Yamanaka into the wisdom teeth.

In December, Japan announced a 10 billion-yen (92 million-dollar) plan to advance stem cell research over five years. Japan is the largest spender on scientific research after the United States.

The new research takes points from last year’s skin cell breakthrough, which was a collaborative effort by researchers at Kyoto University and the University of Wisconsin at Madison.