自言自語：以后有蛀牙看牙醫(yī)，再也不用擔(dān)心那令人頭皮發(fā)麻姨伤，汗毛豎立哨坪，菊花緊鎖的鉆牙聲了。 ?

Scientists Use Lasers To Regrow Teeth From Stem Cells 科學(xué)家使用激光技術(shù)從干細(xì)胞中再生牙齒

原文：www.iflscience.com乍楚。 翻譯：派大麗Pally

Imagine if a trip to the dentist to treat a cavity didn’t involve a filling, root canal, or crown. What if a simple light treatment could actually get your teeth to regrow themselves using stem cells? That’s the aim of a group of researchers at Harvard’s Wyss Institute, led by David Mooney, who have found success in regrowing rat teeth in this manner. The researchers have developed a technique using a low-power laser to coax stem cells into reforming dentin, which could have implications for dentistry, wound healing, and bone restoration. The results of the study have been published in the journal Science Translational Medicine.

試想一下你要去牙醫(yī)那里治療一顆蛀牙当编，但無需任何填補(bǔ)，根管治療或是冠套徒溪。如果有種簡(jiǎn)單的光療法以使用干細(xì)胞就能讓牙齒再生會(huì)怎樣忿偷？由大衛(wèi).慕尼帶領(lǐng)的一支來自哈佛大學(xué)維斯研究所的研究團(tuán)隊(duì)正致力于此，目前他們已成功在老鼠身上實(shí)現(xiàn)這一設(shè)想臊泌。研究團(tuán)隊(duì)開發(fā)了一種技術(shù)鲤桥，即使用低功率激光將干細(xì)胞慢慢再生成牙本質(zhì)，而這對(duì)牙齒損傷缺虐、傷口愈合及骨質(zhì)修復(fù)等情況都可能適用芜壁。這一研究成果已刊登在《科學(xué)轉(zhuǎn)化醫(yī)學(xué)》期刊上礁凡。

Proteins known as growth factors are what cause stem cells to differentiate into whatever type of cell they are bound to become. Introducing different growth factors force the cells to develop the desired type of tissue. Unfortunately, it isn’t quite as simple as it sounds. Most of the developments in using stem cells in regenerative medicine have regrown tissues in vitro and later need to be transplanted into the person. This involves a lot of technical care and is a highly regulated process, which slows down progress. Mooney’s team claims they have come up with a new technique that could streamline the process, making it a viable clinical option much more quickly.

蛋白質(zhì)作為一種生長因子高氮，能促成干細(xì)胞變成其它任何想要變成的細(xì)胞類型慧妄。導(dǎo)入不同的生長因子促使細(xì)胞發(fā)展成為需要的組織〖羯郑可惜的是塞淹，這并沒有聽上去的那么容易。目前多數(shù)使用干細(xì)胞實(shí)現(xiàn)再生治療的研究都是先進(jìn)行體外重生組織再將其移植到人類身上罪裹。這就需要大量的技術(shù)支持饱普，而嚴(yán)格的操作流程也同時(shí)會(huì)拖緩進(jìn)程。慕尼團(tuán)隊(duì)聲稱他們已經(jīng)找到新技術(shù)能將流程簡(jiǎn)化状共，并更快的將其實(shí)現(xiàn)成可行的醫(yī)療手段套耕。

The team set up a miniature dentist office-like setting for the rodents used in the study. They drilled holes into the rats’ molars to simulate tooth decay. Next, adult stem cells were applied to the pulp of the tooth and a non-ionizing, low-level laser was used to stimulate the growth factors. The teeth were then sealed with a temporary cap to be worn over the next 12 weeks. The follow-up x-rays and microscopy analysis showed that the dentin, the layer under the visible enamel, had indeed begun to grow back due to the laser/stem cell therapy.

研究團(tuán)隊(duì)為研究使用的嚙齒動(dòng)物們建立了一個(gè)迷你牙防所。他們?cè)诶鲜蟮木数X上鉆洞以此模擬蛀牙峡继，接著將成人干細(xì)胞注入牙髓冯袍，并用非電離的低功率激光刺激生長因子。在接下來的12周碾牌，臼齒上會(huì)用臨時(shí)冠套套封起來康愤。隨后的x光和顯微鏡分析都說明，在肉眼可及的烤瓷冠套下舶吗，的確由于激光干細(xì)胞療法而重新開始生長出牙本質(zhì)征冷。

“Our treatment modality does not introduce anything new to the body, and lasers are routinely used in medicine and dentistry, so the barriers to clinical translation are low,” Mooney said in a press release. “It would be a substantial advance in the field if we can regenerate teeth rather than replace them.”

“我們的治療方法并不在身體上使用任何新東西，而且激光也長期應(yīng)用于醫(yī)療和牙科誓琼，所以很容易實(shí)現(xiàn)為可行的治療方法检激，”慕尼在一次新聞媒體中說到，“如果我們能實(shí)現(xiàn)再生牙齒而不是替換牙齒踊赠，這將是這個(gè)領(lǐng)域的重大突破呵扛。“

Of course, performing dentistry on rats was not without its challenges. While the dentin was incredibly similar to that which grows naturally, it wasn’t organized exactly the same way. Also, restored dentin forms what is known as a “dentin bridge” that covers the exposed dental pulp. While this is somewhat easy to detect in human teeth, it was very difficult to see in the tiny rat teeth. Mooney stated that “[t]his is one of those rare cases where it would be easier to do this work on a human.”

當(dāng)然筐带，對(duì)老鼠進(jìn)行牙科治療也不是沒有難度今穿。盡管那些再生牙本質(zhì)和自然生長的牙齒驚人相似，但卻并不是完全相同的組織伦籍。再者蓝晒，再生牙本質(zhì)形成一種叫“牙本質(zhì)鏈”的物質(zhì)覆蓋在暴露的牙髓上，盡管這在人類牙齒上很容易被發(fā)現(xiàn)帖鸦，但要在那么小的老鼠牙齒上卻并非易事芝薇。慕尼說：“這是比較罕見的在人類身上實(shí)驗(yàn)更容易的案例之一∽鞫”

The team then sought to identify which molecular mechanisms were influenced by the laser. Transforming growth factor beta-1 (TGF-β1), a widely multifunctional protein that regulates cell proliferation and differentiation, was largely responsible for regrowing the dentin. The laser first stimulated reactive oxygen species (ROS), which has an important function in cell signaling and other cellular homeostatic processes. ROS then stimulated the then-dormant TGF-β1 into activating, which gave the stem cells the signal to differentiate into dentin. The researchers also noted that the reaction was dose-specific to the level of light received.

研究團(tuán)隊(duì)接著研究確認(rèn)出了哪些分子機(jī)制受到了激光的影響洛二，它們就是：轉(zhuǎn)化生長因子beta-1 (TGF-β1)。這是一種控制細(xì)胞繁殖和差異的多功能蛋白質(zhì)，就是它在再生牙本質(zhì)過程中發(fā)揮了重大作用晾嘶。激光先刺激活性氧（ROS）妓雾，后者在細(xì)胞信號(hào)收發(fā)及其它自動(dòng)調(diào)節(jié)過程中扮演重要角色，活性氧再接著將彼時(shí)休眠狀態(tài)的轉(zhuǎn)化生長因子beta-1激活垒迂，以此來給干細(xì)胞發(fā)出轉(zhuǎn)化成牙本質(zhì)的信號(hào)械姻。研究人員同時(shí)指出轉(zhuǎn)化數(shù)量取決于吸收激光的多少。

Anecdotal evidence about the power of low-level light therapy has been piling up for nearly 50 years, but this study was the first to nail down the molecular mechanism. This could open up a host of potential avenues of treatments that expand far beyond dentin. The team’s future research will include experimentation with other stem cells, and they also hope to begin human trials for restorative dentistry soon.

在坊間關(guān)于低功率激光療法功能的逸事已盛傳近50年机断，但這項(xiàng)研究卻是首次確定了是哪種分子機(jī)制發(fā)揮了作用楷拳。這也將為除牙本質(zhì)外其它領(lǐng)域的潛在治療方法延伸出更多可能性。研究團(tuán)隊(duì)未來將對(duì)其它干細(xì)胞進(jìn)行實(shí)驗(yàn)吏奸，并希望能盡快針對(duì)修復(fù)性牙科在人類身上進(jìn)行試驗(yàn)欢揖。