Establishment of a noninvasive and quantitative quality evaluation method of a tissue-engineered oral mucosa fabricated using optical coherence tomography

2022 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 20K18556
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Early-Career Scientists
• Allocation Type: Multi-year Fund
• Review Section: Basic Section 57040:Regenerative dentistry and dental engineering-related
• Research Institution: Niigata University
• Principal Investigator: Suzuki Ayako 新潟大学, 医歯学系, 特任助教 (70869916)
• Project Period (FY): 2020-04-01 – 2023-03-31
• Keywords: 光干渉式断層撮影 / 培養口腔粘膜 / 非侵襲的評価 / 品質管理

Outline of Final Research Achievements

In order to develop a protocol that can be applied to quantitative analysis of epithelialization and quality control of cultured oral mucosa, we used optical coherence tomography (OCT), which enables non-invasive live imaging and quantitative evaluation. The three-dimensional image and the tissue image after completion were compared and verified. As a result, the uneven structure given to the cultured oral mucosa was consistent between the three-dimensional image and the tissue image, respectively, demonstrating the applicability and feasibility of his OCT imaging as a quality control tool. Furthermore, we succeeded in quantitatively evaluating the thickness of the epithelial cell layer on the 7th day of culture and on the day of the end of culture. Thus, it enabled a quality assessment tool for longitudinal and non-invasive quantitative evaluation of regenerative medicine products containing autologous cells.

Free Research Field

再生医療

Academic Significance and Societal Importance of the Research Achievements

再生医療等製品に限らず、3次元培養された細胞・構造体の変化を測定する解析手法は、乏しいのが現状である。生体に無害なOCT技術に着目し、培養口腔粘膜作成プロトコールと関連させ、品質管理ツールとしての利用可能性についてアプローチする本課題は独自性が高い。本課題で得られた基礎的知見や定量的評価法は、他の細胞を用いた再生医療用製品でも細胞品質管理に活用可能で、今後、移植用3次元構造体の非侵襲評価法のロールモデルとなり得るので、再生医療・レギュラトリーサイエンスに対し大きな貢献が期待される。