Telomerase activity in oral mucosa stem cell subpopulation

Abstract

Statement of the Problem: Our long-term goal is to produce a “smart” transduced oral mucosal graft that will be used for reconstruction of major oral defects secondary to oncologic resection, traumatic events or developmental disturbances. The graft would act both as a material for reconstruction and as a repository for in situ transmucosal delivery of recombinant growth factors or cytokines. Several barriers presently exist that prevent this technology from moving into the clinical arena. First, is the ability to fabricate these “smart” grafts in a more efficient manner, ie, develop a more highly proliferative and expanding cell population, and, second, the ability to isolate a stem/progenitor cell (this will make gene therapy more practical by achieving high-level gene expression in a significant percentage of cells). We have successfully isolated a subpopulation of fractionated/sorted oral mucosa keratinocytes enriched for progenitor/stem cells, small cells that are 15–35 microns in diameter. Our objective of this study was to determine baseline telomerase activity (TA) of the progenitor/stem cell population to be able to assess whether the prevention of telomere shortening could be a viable pathway to slow down cell senescence.