The work of American scientists that was described in the Tissue Engineering Part A issue gives a new hope for millions of patients suffering from the nagging problem of xerostomia. This team of scientists was the first one to design a functional ‘scaffolding’ enabling the development of multipotential stem cells in the direction of the elements of lobules of the salivary glands.
The underlying cause of xerostomia, that millions of patients all over the world suffer from, is the lack of an adequate function of salivary glands. This dysfunction might be caused by radiotherapy of the head or the neck (or both) as well as such systemic diseases as diabetes, renal disease or autoimmune conditions, the most common of them being Sjögren’s syndrome.
Despite of a seemingly innocent name, xerostomia is a serious medical condition. It leads to the development of caries and swallowing difficulties. Bad breath, difficulties in speaking and a loss of taste are another symptoms that accompany the malfunction of salivary glands and that significantly lower the quality of life of the patients.
Currently the means by which the problem is managed are artificial saliva remedies and sugar free chewing gums recommended to the patients. As it is, on the other hand, for those with the remnant function of the salivary glands, it is recommended for them to take preparations stimulating excretion in those organs such as Pilocarpine or Acetylocysteine. These actions, however, are still only kinds of symptomatic treatment that do not allow for the distorted gland function to return. According to the scientists an ideal solution to this problem could be the regeneration of the excretory lobules which previously seemed to be too difficult regarding the very advanced diversification of the glandular tissue.
The team of doctor Bin-Xian Zhang conducted an experiment in which the subsequent stages were based on the purification of fibres, produced by silkworms, from different contaminants. The next step involved using the purified material to build a micro net that was covered with a mixture of nutrients which enabled the stem cells from rats’ salivary glands to be introduced onto it. After a few weeks of culture the cells formed a 3D matrix which covered the silk scaffolding. After a close analysis of the collected material the team concluded that the cultured cells possess a lot of morphological and functional properties of excretory cells. What is more, the cell groups managed to form lobular-like structures that correspond to those present in the salivary glands.
The discovery of scientists from the University of Texas might allow in the future for an effective treatment of xerostomia in survivors from the lately very common neoplasms of the head and neck. It also might be a hope for patients suffering from Sjögren’s syndrome or those taking medications that cause the dysfunction of salivary glands as their side effect.
Implementing new therapeutical strategy for this problem might enable a significant improvement of the patients’ quality of life as well as lowering the medical care costs associated with the treatment of potential complications. What is more, the very method of constructing an organic scaffolding for cell culture with the use of silk might be used for culturing, and thus regenerating, other functional tissues as well.
Written by: Piotr Kamiński, Monika Gruszczyńska, Anna Boguszewska Czubara
Source:
1. Bin-Xian Zhang, Zhi-Liang Zhang, Alan L. Lin, Hanzhou Wang, Marcello Pilia, Joo L. Ong, David D. Dean, Xiao-Dong Chen, Chih-Ko Yeh. Silk Fibroin Scaffolds Promote Formation of theEx VivoNiche for Salivary Gland Epithelial Cell Growth, Matrix Formation, and Retention of Differentiated Function. Tissue Engineering Part A, 2015; 21 (9-10)
2. Paddock, Catharine. “Silk and stem cells may help engineer salivary glands for dry mouth.” Medical News Today. MediLexicon, Intl., 30 Jul. 2015. Web.
3. Choroby wewnętrzne : na podstawie Interny Szczeklika / pod red. Piotra Gajewskiego. – Wyd. 5. – Kraków : Medycyna Praktyczna, 2013.
4. University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio. “Scientists’ silk structure is secret to process of regenerating salivary cells: Tissue engineering could help millions in the US with dry mouth due to Sjögren’s syndrome, and radiation for head and neck cancer.” ScienceDaily. ScienceDaily, 27 July 2015.
5. Baum, B.J. Prospects for re-engineering salivary glands. Adv Dent Res 14, 84, 2000.
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