A rare forum on stem cell biology, engineering and clinical translation

On March 23, during the 41st Annual Meeting & Exhibition of the American Association for Dental Research (AADR), held in conjunction with the 36th Annual Meeting of the Canadian Association for Dental Research, a symposium titled "TMJ: Stem Cell Biology and Engineering toward Clinical Translation" will provide a rare forum for multidisciplinary discussion of the biology, engineering and clinical translation of fundamental discoveries towards novel clinical therapy. The symposium is co-sponsored by the Craniofacial Biology, Mineralized Tissue and Neuroscience Scientific Research Groups of the International Association for Dental Research. The presentations in this multidisciplinary symposium will represent broad and yet comprehensive approaches toward the understanding of the origin, homeostasis, differentiation, hormonal regulation and bioengineering of temporomandibular joint (TMJ) tissues.

TMJ disorders are a poorly understood cluster of diseases, ranging from neuromuscular pain to severe forms of arthritis. Recently, stem/progenitor cells have been identified in TMJ disc and condyle, with potential origin from neural crest cells in development. Putative TMJ stem/progenitor cells are subjected to local, hormonal and other systemic factors in homeostasis in multiple processes that warrant better elucidation. In parallel, there is an acute demand in the clinical community for the regeneration of various TMJ components, including the disc, condyle, synovium and the mandible.

This symposium will not only provide new aspects of a timely and under-studied subject of TMJ biology and therapeutics, but also use TMJ as a model for the study of other dental and craniofacial structures and diseases.

This is a summary of sequence #87 titled "TMJ: Stem Cell Biology and Engineering toward Clinical Translation" which will feature abstracts to be presented by M. Embree, M. Detamore, A. Le and S. Kapila at the Annual Meeting of the American Association for Dental Research. This symposium will take place at 8 a.m. on Friday, March 23, 2012, in room 10 of the Tampa Convention Center.