Regeneration of dentin-pulp complex with cementum and periodontal ligament formation using dental bud cells in gelatin-chondroitin-hyaluronan tri-copolymer scaffold in swine.

The purpose of this study is to use a tissue engineering approach for tooth regeneration. The swine dental bud cells (DBCs) were isolated from the developing mandibular teeth, expanded in vitro, and cultured onto cylinder scaffold gelatin-chrondroitin-hyaluronan-tri-copolymer (GCHT). After culturing in vitro, the DBCs/GCHT scaffold was autografted back into the original alveolar socket. Hematoxylin and eosin (H&E) staining combined with immunohistochemical staining were applied for identification of regenerated tooth structure. After 36-week post-transplantation, tooth-like structures, including well-organized dentin-pulp complex, cementum, and periodontal ligament, were evident in situ in two of six experimental animals. The size of the tooth structure (1 x 0.5 x 0.5 cm(3) and 0.5 x 0.5 x 0.5 cm(3) size) appeared to be dictated by the size of the GCHT scaffold (1 x 1 x 1.5 cm(3)). The third swine was demonstrated with irregular dentin-bony like calcified tissue about 1 cm in diameter without organized tooth or periodontal ligament formation. The other three swine in the experimental group showed normal bone formation and no tooth regeneration in the transplantation sites. The successful rate of tooth regeneration from DBCs/GCHT scaffolds' was about 33.3%. In the control group, three swine's molar teeth buds were removed without DBCs/GCHT implantation, the other three swine received GCHT scaffold implants without DBCs. After evaluation, no regenerated tooth was found in the transplantation site of the control group. The current results using DBSs/GCHT scaffold autotransplantation suggest a technical breakthrough for tooth regeneration.

Proteoglycans contain a 4.6-A repeat in corneas with macular dystrophy: II. Histochemical evidence.

PURPOSE: Synchrotron x-ray diffraction experiments indicate that corneas with macular corneal dystrophy (MCD) contain unusual 4.6-A periodic repeats thought to reside in proteoglycans or glycosaminoglycans. Recently the 4.6-A x-ray reflection was found to be significantly diminished after incubation of MCD specimens in buffer containing chondroitinase ABC or N-glycanase. We examined the sulfated proteoglycans in these glycosidase-digested MCD corneas. METHODS: Transmission electron microscopy was used in conjunction with cuprolinic blue-staining for sulfated proteoglycans. RESULTS: Incubation of an MCD specimen in enzyme buffer left both small and large proteoglycan filaments in the stromal matrix, whereas incubation in the presence of chondroitinase ABC removed these molecules from the tissue. Incubation in buffer containing N-glycanase, on the other hand, removed the large proteoglycan filaments from the MCD stroma but left unaffected the small collagen-associated proteoglycans. CONCLUSION: These results are consistent with the interpretation that 4.6-A periodic repeats in MCD corneas reside in large sulfated proteoglycan filaments (or aggregates thereof) that may contain chondroitin/dermatan sulfate and keratan sulfate or keratan components.