Stem cells from jaw bone can repair damaged cartilage read more at here www.spinonews.com/index.php/item/1218-stem-cells-from-jaw-bone-can-repair-damaged-cartilage

Columbia College of Dental Medicine researchers has identified stem cells that can make new cartilage and repair damaged joints.

The cells reside within the temporomandibular joint (TMJ), which articulates the jawbone to the skull. When the stem cells were manipulated in animals with TMJ degeneration, the cells repaired cartilage in the joint.

Mildred C. Embree, DMD, PhD, assistant professor of dental medicine at Columbia and the lead author of the study, said, this is very exciting for the field because patients who have problems with their jaws and TMJs are very limited in terms of clinical treatments available.

Cartilage helps to cushion the joints and allows them to move smoothly. The type of cartilage within the TMJ is fibrocartilage, which is found in the knee meniscus and on the discs between the vertebrae.

Medical researchers are working to use stem cells, immature cells that can develop into various types of tissue, to regenerate cartilage.

Researchers suggest that molecular signals that govern stem cells may have therapeutic applications for cartilage and bone regeneration. Cartilage and certain bone defects are notoriously difficult to heal.

In a series of experiments, researchers isolated fibrocartilage stem cells (FCSCs) from the joint and showed that the cells can form cartilage and bone, both in the laboratory when implanted into animals.

The team identified a molecular signal, Wnt, that depletes FCSCs and causes cartilage degeneration. Injecting a Wnt-blocking molecules called sclerostin into degenerated TMJs in animals stimulated cartilage growth and healing of the joint.

Researchers searching for other small molecules that could be used to inhibit Wnt and promote FCSC growth. The idea will be to find a drug with minimal side-effects that could be injected right into the joint.

Children with juvenile idiopathic arthritis can have stunted jaw growth that can’t be treated with existing drugs. From the TMJ is a growth center for the jaw, the new research may offer strategies for treating these children and lead to a better understanding of how the jaw grows and develops.

The findings could lead to strategies for repairing fibrocartilage in other joints, including the knees and vertebral discs.

According to National Institutes of Health, up to 10 million people in the United States have TMJ disorders.