Stem cells are able to regenerate and develop into a variety of different cell types in the body (Zakrzewski, Dobrzyński, Szymonowicz, & Rybak, 2019). They are able to serve as a repair system in different tissues of the body so long the person or animal living still. When stem cells divide, they can either remain as a stem cell or become a new type of cell while gaining a specialized function such as a muscle cell.
In a recent study, the plasticity of dental epithelial stem cells (DESCs) with regards to mammary regeneration was further looked into as their potential to create tissues of non-dental origin has not been clear. DESCs were obtained from the growing incisors of young mice and combined with mammary epithelial cells where they both were directly injected into the mice's mammary gland fat pad (Jimenez-Rojo, Pagella, Harada, & Mitsiadis, 2019). Results showed that the DESCs have the ability to contribute to the regeneration of the mammary gland as well as generating mammary cell populations alongside with milk-producing cells (Jimenez-Rojo, Pagella, Harada, & Mitsiadis, 2019). A second experiment was done, similar to this first one, but instead of combining the DESCs with the mammary epithelial cells, the DESCs were injected into the mammary fat pad alone. Surprisingly enough, small ductal systems were formed from the DESCs alone (University of Zurich, 2019). According to Pierfrancesco Pagella from the Institute of Oral Biology, this type of plasticity demonstrated by the DESCs may be unique as no other non-mammary epithelial cell examined so far has been able to exhibit the generation of mammary ducts without the support of mammary epithelial cells (University of Zurich, 2019).
This study is a great starting point to further look into new ways to use stem cell therapies in order to regenerate full tissues such as the breast in the future for those who have any sort of pathology like breast cancer. Ethically, in order to do no harm (non-maleficence) to patients much more research will be needed to ensure the safety of candidates as well as the efficiency of using DESCs as a means for mammary regeneration. Even in the future if stem cells become more recognized for different types of treatment, it is important to consider justice as the cost of and accessibility of stem cell therapy can disregard many patients that may be in need of receiving treatments for their health.
References:
Jimenez-Rojo, L., Pagella, P., Harada, H., & Mitsiadis, T. A. (2019). Dental Epithelial Stem Cells as a Source for Mammary Gland Regeneration and Milk Producing Cells In Vivo. Cells, 8(10), 1302. https://doi.org/10.3390/cells8101302
University of Zurich. (2019). Milk from teeth: Dental stem cells can generate milk-producing cells. Retrieved December 2, 2019, from ScienceDaily website: https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2019/10/191031112540.htm
Zakrzewski, W., Dobrzyński, M., Szymonowicz, M., & Rybak, Z. (2019). Stem cells: Past, present, and future. Stem Cell Research & Therapy, 10. https://doi.org/10.1186/s13287-019-1165-5
This makes me begin to wonder what benefit can come from this revelation. Would this practice be able to rebuild a woman’s breast tissue after they had a mastectomy or maybe help a woman breast feed her children if necessary? It also makes me wonder why we wanted to experiment with mouse stem cells that create teeth into fat tissue to see what happens. Is that due to some sort of human curiosity or does it eventually have an application.
ReplyDeleteI hear recently too that they are attempting to use a mix of stem cells and CRISPR technology to treat “bubble boy” syndrome. I just hope that these medicinal progresses will be an ultimate benefit one day.
Porteus, M. (2019, April 10). Scientists use CRISPR for possible 'bubble boy' therapy. Retrieved December 2, 2019, from https://med.stanford.edu/news/all-news/2019/04/scientists-use-crispr-for-possible-bubble-boy-therapy.html.