BBB Seminar: Minoru Ueda

Minoru Ueda
Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, Nagoya University, School of Medicine, Japan

Regenerative medicine using stem cells is a promising tool in a new clinical platform for the treatment of previously incurable disease such as brain and spinal code injury. Mesenchymal stem cells isolated from bone marrow (BMSC) have been introduced in clinical applications as one of the candidates in the treatment of central nerve damage. However, data from experimental and clinical studies showed that BMSC did not have a high ability to promote central nerve regeneration. Furthermore, number, proliferation and differentiation potential of BMSC declines with increasing age.

Taking these circumstances into account, our group has been focusing on the dental pulp stem cells (DPSC) which are known to have high rate of cell growth and express various neural markers involved in central nerve regeneration. An experimental study using an animal model of brain infarction and spinal code injury was performed. The DPSC treated animals showed remarkable recovery regarding improvement in their locomotion ability.

DPSC has been known to produce various types of growth factors acting as signaling molecules to the endogenous stem cells. A large number of cytokines and growth factors such as VEGF, HGF, IGF, PDGF, TGF-β have been demonstrated in the conditioned medium derived from DPSCs. Furthermore, the DPSC conditioned medium remarkably promoted central nerve repair, this to an extent greater than transplanted stem cells (DPSC) in an experimental rat model.

In this seminar, a new and novel concept will be presented, namely the use of stem cell growth factor therapy instead of traditional stem cell transplantation. I will discuss our experimental and clinical data supporting the new concept in relation to brain and spinal code engineering.

Chair: Kamal Mustafa, Department of Clinical Dentistry