(Press-News.org) Putnam Valley, N.Y. (July 6, 2015) - Peripheral nerve injuries often are caused by trauma or surgical complications and can result in considerable disabilities. Regeneration of peripheral nerves can be accomplished effectively using autologous (self-donated) nerve grafts, but that procedure may sacrifice a functional nerve and cause loss of sensation in another part of the patient's body.
Searching for an alternative to autologous nerve grafts (autografts), researchers in Japan transplanted mobilized dental pulp stem cells (MDPSCs) into laboratory rats with sciatic nerve defects to investigate the regenerative capabilities of MDPSCs and to compare the effectiveness of this procedure to what has been called the "gold standard,"- autologous nerve grafts or collagen implants, that were provided to control groups with similar nerve damage. For this study, the dental pulp used was derived easily from discarded teeth following extraction.
The researchers found that the group receiving the MDPSCs demonstrated regeneration of myelinated axons that were significantly higher in density than those resulting for controls that received nerve grafts or collagen.
Their study will be published in a future issue of Cell Transplantation and is currently freely available on-line as an unedited early e-pub at:
http://ingentaconnect.com/content/cog/ct/pre-prints/content-CT-1363_Yamamota_et_al
"The total number of myelinated axons was greatest in the autograft group, followed by the MDPSC group and the collagen group," said study co-author Dr. Misako Nakashima, DDS, PhD, Department of Dental Regenerative Medicine, Center of Advanced Medicine for Dental and Oral Diseases, National Center for Geriatrics and Gerontology Research Institute in Obu, Japan. "The MDPSC group showed increased blood vessel formation, yet there was no statistical difference between the results found in the MDPSC group and the autograft group."
The researchers speculated that the MDPSCs may have had a stimulatory effect on residual Schwann cells (cells involved in many important aspects of peripheral nerve cell biology) through their secretion of neurotrophic factors. In in vitro experiments, the researchers found that MDPSCs had a beneficial effect on Schwann cells. That effect was amplified in in vivo studies.
The researchers concluded that "MDPSCs can contribute to peripheral nerve regeneration by the secretion of neurotrophic and angiogenic factors (factors that promote the formation of new blood vessels) when in close proximity to newly migrated Schwann cells" by regulating their apoptosis (programmed cell death) capability and proliferation.
"We predict that in the near future dental pulp stem cell transplantation may become a possible candidate for taking the place of autologous nerve grafts in peripheral nerve repair and regeneration," said the researchers.
"DPSCs are derived from the neural crest, making them attractive candidates for neural therapy and repair," said Dr. John R. Sladek, Jr., Professor of Neurology, Pediatrics, and Neuroscience, Department of Neurology at the University of Colorado School of Medicine and section editor for Cell Transplantation. "The avoidance of potential ethical issues often associated with the derivation of stem cells is also commendable. In this study, although MDPSCs exceeded autografts in axon density, the autografts had the highest total number of myelinated axons. Thus, comparative effectiveness studies should be conducted to compare cells with different lineages that have been proposed for nerve regeneration in order to determine which cell type yields optimal results. In addition, this study focused on the biological effects of MDPSC transplantation. Further studies should be conducted to ascertain the functional outcomes of this cell therapy for peripheral nerve regeneration."
INFORMATION:
Contact: Dr. Misako Nakashima, DDS, PhD, Department of Dental Regenerative Medicine, Center of Advanced Medicine for Dental and Oral Diseases, National Center for Geriatrics and Gerontology Research Institute, 35 Gengo, Morioka, Obu 474-8511 Japan
Tel: +81- 562- 44- 5651 ext. 5065
Fax: +81- 562-46-8684
Email: misako@ncgg.go.jp
Citation: Yamamoto, T.; Osako, Y.; Ito, M.; Murakami, M.; Hayashi, Y.; Horibe, H.; Iohara, K.; Takeuchi, N.; Okui, N.; Hirata, H.; Nakayama, H.; Kurita, K.; Nakashima, M. Trophic Effects of Dental Pulp Stem Cells on Schwann Cells in Peripheral Nerve Regeneration. Cell Transplant. Appeared or available on-line: April 22, 2015.
The Coeditors-in-chief for CELL TRANSPLANTATION are at the Diabetes Research Institute, University of Miami Miller School of Medicine and Center for Neuropsychiatry, China Medical University Hospital, TaiChung, Taiwan. Contact, Camillo Ricordi, MD at ricordi@miami.edu or Shinn-Zong Lin, MD, PhD at shinnzong@yahoo.com.tw or David Eve, PhD or Samantha Portis, MS, at celltransplantation@gmail.com
News release by Florida Science Communications http://www.sciencescribe.net
By studying climate data in the British-Irish Isles over a 142-year period, researchers have confirmed the important role of cyclones. Seasonal precipitation totals were strongly related to cyclone frequency, especially during summer.
The researchers found that relative to the 1961-1990 period, summers have become much wetter and more cyclonic. The move towards wetter summers in recent years is more of a re-establishment of conditions typical of the earlier half of the 20th Century rather than being unusual in the long term.
Recent years have seen three of the stormiest ...
For the first time, researchers have used a simplified technique derived from a defense mechanism evolved by bacteria and other single-celled organisms to successfully insert a large DNA sequence into a predetermined genomic site in mammalian cells.
The methods used may help investigators genetically engineer cells to produce high levels of certain proteins--for example by placing the DNA sequence of a particular protein at the site of a highly active gene.
"The CRISPR-Cas system has been previously used to insert a foreign DNA sequence into a targeted genomic site ...
Since Ebola was first described in 1976, there have been several outbreaks, but all have been self-limiting. In a new Journal of Internal Medicine review, Dr. Ali Mirazimi of the Karolinska Institutet considers why the latest outbreak occurred and discusses the factors that contributed to making it the largest, most sustained, and most widespread outbreak of Ebola. He also notes that several potential treatments are now undergoing clinical trials and have shown initial promising results.
"Emerging and re-emerging infectious diseases will continue to challenge both human ...
Researchers have developed a non-invasive technique that allows clinicians to accurately detect various forms of skin cancer.
The current clinical "gold standard" non-invasive technique, called dermoscopy, is a highly subjective method. But by using what's called Raman spectroscopy, investigators found that malignant melanoma could be detected with an accuracy of 91% and non-melanoma skin cancers could be detected with accuracy between 73% and 85%.
"The non-invasive and label-free nature of Raman spectroscopy enables the application in various medical fields. The method ...
Differences in the number of oil-secreting glands in the skin may help explain why wrinkles are shallower in the forehead than in the outer eye area, suggests new research conducted on cadavers.
Investigators suspect that the presence of oil-secreting glands and a thinner inner layer of skin, or dermis, may let the skin deform more easily and might be a cause for the development of wrinkles. The findings are published in Clinical Anatomy.
INFORMATION: ...
Long QT syndrome (LQTS), a rare hereditary heart condition, can lead to life-threatening arrhythmias, or fast heartbeat irregularities. New research indicates that children with LQTS who take medications for attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) are at increased risk of experiencing heart-related problems--especially syncope, or the loss of consciousness.
"In light of these findings, special attention is needed when prescribing ADHD medications for LQTS patients, starting with the lowest effective dose and planning close follow-up," said Dr. Valentina Kutyifa, ...
WASHINGTON (July 6, 2015) - The prevalence of cardiovascular risk factors like hypertension, high cholesterol, and diabetes have been decreasing in the United States and Europe, however they appear to be on the rise in Asia, particularly Japan, according to a guest editor page published today in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology.
Using data from epidemiological studies and examining a health program launched by the Japanese government, guest editor Masafumi Kitakaze, M.D., Ph.D., found many risk factors in the Japanese population remain unchanged or even ...
WASHINGTON (July 6, 2015) -- Adults who walked briskly, were moderately active in their leisure time, drank moderately, didn't smoke and avoided obesity had half the risk of heart failure as adults who did not optimize these modifiable risk factors, according to a study that followed nearly 4,500 adults for two decades. The study was published today in JACC: Heart Failure.
Heart failure, a condition where the heart fails to pump as much blood as the body needs, is increasing in frequency in the United States and is a leading cause of hospitalization for people over age ...
Common extra heartbeats known as premature ventricular contractions (PVCs) may be a modifiable risk factor for congestive heart failure (CHF) and death, according to researchers at UC San Francisco.
The study, which is in the July 14 issue of the Journal of the American College of Cardiology (JACC), is based on more than a decade of research of 1,139 participants from the national Cardiovascular Health Study.
PVCs are extra, abnormal heartbeats that occur in the ventricles. They disrupt the heart's regular rhythm but usually are no reason for concern or require treatment. ...
(Philadelphia, PA) - Lupus, multiple sclerosis, and type-1 diabetes are among more than a score of diseases in which the immune system attacks the body it was designed to defend. But just why the immune system begins its misdirected assault has remained a mystery.
Now, researchers at Temple University School of Medicine (TUSM) have shown that bacterial communities known as biofilm play a role in the development of the autoimmune disease systemic lupus erythematosus -- a discovery that may provide important clues about several autoimmune ailments.
A team led by TUSM ...
