Drug Discovered to Regenerate Lost Teeth
TOKYO: A new study by scientists at Kyoto University and the University of Fukui, may offer some hope for those who lost teeth.
The scientists team reports that an antibody for one gene — uterine sensitization associated gene-1 or USAG-1 — can stimulate tooth growth in mice suffering from tooth agenesis, a congenital condition, a paper published in Science Advances says.
The normal adult mouth has 32 teeth, but around 1% of the population has more or fewer due to congenital conditions. Scientists have explored the genetic causes for cases having too many teeth as clues for regenerating teeth in adults, Scitechdaily reported.
According to Katsu Takahashi, the lead author and a senior lecturer at the Kyoto University Graduate School of Medicine, the fundamental molecules responsible for tooth development have already been identified.
“The morphogenesis of individual teeth depends on the interactions of several molecules including BMP, or bone morphogenetic protein, and Wnt signaling,” says Takahashi.
“Cell-free molecular therapy is effective for a wide range of congenital tooth agenesis,” says Manabu Sugai of the University of Fukui, another author of the study.
