New research has shown that fibres from silk and stem cells may be used to regenerate salivary glands and treat dry mouth. 

Dry mouth occurs when salivary glands produce insufficient saliva. It is often caused by medication use, cancer, autoimmune illnesses and old age. Having insufficient saliva in your mouth can lead to serious health problems including tooth decay and gum disease. There is currently no treatment that can restore function to salivary glands and the glands do not have the ability to heal themselves.

The research, published in the journal Tissue Engineering Part A, was undertaken by a team from the University of Texas at San Antonio. They attempted to use silk fibres to give stem cells a scaffold upon which to grow new salivary gland cells.

Despite salivary glands being difficult to grow in a laboratory, the experiment was a success. Senior author Dr Chih-Ko Yeh found the new cells on the silk thread shared the same characteristics as salivary gland cells.

The research findings could lead to a treatment that would be very beneficial for the 4 million Americans with Sjögren’s syndrome — a chronic autoimmune disease where the body attacks its own tear ducts and salivary glands. A treatment will also be very useful for anyone undergoing radiation therapy for cancer or who is taking medication that has dry mouth as a side effect.

Silk was used to form the scaffolding because it is a natural fibre that is porous and biodegrades. That makes it easier for the stem cells to propagate and form salivary gland cells. Research is still at the animal testing stage and scientists will soon move on to testing the silk and stem cells procedure with cells harvested from human bone marrow and umbilical cord blood.

Source: Silk and stem cells may help engineer salivary glands for dry mouth

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