Mesenchymal stem cells are multipotent cells that have the ability to differentiate into different cell types, acting as a system of construction and repair. Because of their qualities, stem cells have become new therapeutic agents for various conditions such as Diabetes.

Mesenchymal stem cells can be obtained from various tissues such as umbilical cord tissue, adipose tissue, placenta and dental pulp. Scientists from the Research and Technology Assistance Center of the State of Jalisco (CIATEJ), seek to use dental pulp stem cells (living soft tissue inside the teeth) to treat Diabetes.

The next step was to determine the differentiation of dental pulp mesenchymal stem cells in pancreatic beta cells, responsible for the production of insulin in the body and whose absence or malfunction is the main problem of patients with diabetes.

Flor Yohana Flores Hernández, a research leader, said in an interview that teeth are a very feasible source of mesenchymal stem cells, whose obtaining implies a minor surgery and a much less invasive method than that necessary to obtain mesenchymal stem cells from bone marrow or adipose tissue.

He indicated that a molecule they are using in the differentiation protocol allows to increase the number of cells obtained in vitro, tripling the insulin-producing cells.

"We have the collaboration of the maxillofacial surgery area of the Civil Hospital of Guadalajara, so we had voluntary donors from 16 to 32 years of third molars, that is, very good quality wisdom teeth from which we had the opportunity to take advantage of their potential [...] We assembled the cold chain technique for the transport of these dental organs to the CIATEJ laboratory, where they were subjected to cleaning and mesenchymal stem cells were obtained from the dental pulp to prepare in vitro cultures, "explained the researcher.

Flores Hernández stressed that, ideally, mesenchymal stem cells should be obtained from the teeth of the diabetic patient to avoid rejection. However, he said that they must first continue to investigate and perform tests on animals, to finally find a cell therapy that combats Diabetes in humans.

http://www.salud.carlosslim.org/cientifica-mexicana- disena-terapia- celular-para-tratadiabetes- using- mother-cells-of-dental-pulp /