Docs try to turn dental pulp into heart cells
Doctors at All-India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) are looking at ways to turn “dental pulp” (part in the centre of a tooth made up of living connective tissue and cells called odontoblasts) into heart cells and replacing other muscle tissues under stem cell treatment.
“Dental pulp is a rich source of stem cells and we are trying to use it to turn it to heart cells,” Dr Sujata Mohanty, in-charge of the stem-cell facility at AIIMS, said.
“The Mesenchymal type of stem cell inside the dental pulp are multipotent stem cells that have the potential to differentiate into a variety of cell types which can contribute to replacing muscle tissues or internal organs,” Dr Mohanty said.
Bone marrow and umbilical cord blood stem cells are undoubtedly present as good source of stem cells but acquiring them is a tedious process.
The same is not the case with this dental pulp, she said.
“We have made the best use of trash because this dental pulp is acquired from tooth that otherwise had made its way to the dustbin. It is easier and a non-invasive way unlike extracting bone marrow stem cells from bones which involve injecting into bones. Access to umbilical cord blood stem cells is not easy too,” Dr Mohanty said.
Dr O.P. Kharbanda from the department of dentistry at AIIMS, who too is involved in this project, said, “We extract a good tooth when doing a orthodontic treatment (aligning and beautifying the jaw and tooth), removing a wisdom tooth and also when treating a diseased gums.
“After extraction its in the dustbin as a bio-medical waste ready to go to the incinerator. Being the strongest structure of the body it does not get disposed off then also.”
Finally, it is buried with the ash produced in the incinerator. Since it is a good source of stem cells we thought it should not go waste. It also has potential to turn to gum cells, Dr Kharbanda said.
Dr Mohanty, however, said, “It is still in the preliminary stages and a result is awaited.”
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JNU students to agitate over remarks
Age Correspondent
New Delhi, Nov. 1
The students are not letting the Mahishasura controversy to die down in the Jawaharlal Nehru University. Now a student group will hold a demonstration on Wednesday to protest against alleged offensive remarks by a university official in context of the controversy.
The All-India Backward Students Forum (AIBSF) has taken offence to remarks by Proctor H.B. Bohidar in an interview to a newspaper where he purportedly said that no other group in JNU uses the caste card.
The group of AIBSF and United Dalit Students Forum (UDSF) students alleged that the proctor has called them casteist. They will hold protest on Thursday afternoon. The group has asked the proctor to apologise for his remarks. The students also alleged that the administration is falsely implicating and harassing AIBSF president Jitendra Yadav for his role in the Mahishasura row.
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