Dental stem cells can generate milk-producing cells

Stem cells can replace damaged cells and therefore represent a good alternative to classical medical treatments for tissue regeneration. Researchers at the University of Zurich (UZH) have now made a new discovery. They found that stem cells from the teeth of mice can not only generate dental cells, but also other cell populations, including mammary glands in female mice.  

In a first experiment, dental epithelial stem cells and mammary epithelial cells were directly injected into the areas of the mice where the mammary glands normally develop. All cells of mammary origin were first removed. 

"The results show that the dental stem cells contribute to mammary gland regeneration, and are able to generate all mammary cell populations and, even more strikingly, milk-producing cells," explained UZH researcher Thimios Mitsiadisin in a statement. 

The researchers then conducted a second experiment in which dental epithelial stem cells were injected alone, without mammary epithelial cells. The dental stem cells were “also able to form small ductal systems consisting of branching rudiments”, according to the statement. 

"This plasticity might be unique for dental epithelial stem cells, since all other non-mammary epithelial cells examined so far have never shown the ability to generate mammary ducts without the support of mammary epithelial cells," commented UZH researcher Pierfrancesco Pagella.

The discovery could be particularly promising for breast cancer patients, according to UZH. New stem cell-based therapies could be used to regenerate breast tissue post-surgery.