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Sharks will teach people to grow teeth

22.02.2016

British scientists have discovered genes in sharks that allow them to regenerate their teeth throughout their lives. A person also has these genes, but they are "sleeping". It is enough to "awaken" them - and toothless mouths will become a thing of the past.

The teeth of most sharks are in the form of sharp cones and sit on the cartilage of the upper and lower jaws. Their regular change takes place according to the conveyor principle: after one of the teeth falls out, a new one grows from the inside of the jaw. In their structure and origin, these are modified placoid scales (plates lying in the fibrous layer of the skin and consisting of bone substance osteodentin).

The study of the mechanism of the appearance of new teeth in sharks was carried out by specialists from the University of Sheffield in the UK; its results are described in a press release. Scientists have been able to isolate a special set of epithelial cells that form dental laminae and activate the continuous continuation of tooth regeneration.

The researchers believe that the genes responsible for this were present in all the first vertebrates. Even after 450 million years of evolution, they have survived: in sharks - in the maximum degree of activity, and in humans - in a "reduced mode". Having replaced milk teeth with molars, the genes "fall asleep", considering their mission accomplished.

Evolutionarily, this is understandable: if sharks have teeth as the main hunting tool, and they need to be sharp and strong, then a person from year to year improves external tools that allow him to survive. However, even in humans, the traditional mechanism sometimes fails: there are many cases when older people's teeth begin to grow again.

Scientists believe that this ability may be available to all of humanity: for this, it will be necessary to “wake up” dormant genes. With the invention of the new CRISPR-Cas9 genetic engineering method, this is quite possible. The method consists in selective editing of the genome by an enzyme that recognizes the necessary sequence of a DNA chain "on the tip" of its complementary RNA "guide".

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