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Armed with that information, Dr Ruohola-Baker and her colleagues next checked to see whether the stem cells could be persuaded to transform into ameloblasts.
有了这些信息，罗霍拉-贝克博士和她的同事们下一步核验了是否可以驱使干细胞转变成成釉细胞。
The team devised a cocktail of drugs designed to activate the genes that they knew were expressed in functioning ameloblasts.
该团队设计了一种混合药物，旨在激活他们已知的在功能成釉细胞中表达的基因。
That did the trick, with the engineered ameloblasts turning out the same proteins as the natural sort.
这招奏效了，经过改造的成釉细胞产生了与天然成釉细胞相同的蛋白质。
A different cocktail pushed the stem cells to become odontoblasts instead.
而另一种混合物则促使干细胞分化为成牙细胞。
Culturing the cells together produced what researchers call an organoid—a glob of tissue in a petri dish which mimics a biological organ.
将这些细胞一起培养后就产生了研究人员所谓的类器官——一种在培养皿中模仿生物器官的组织团。
The organoids happily churned out the chemical components of enamel.
类器官愉快地分泌出了牙釉质的化学成分。
Having both cell types seemed to be crucial: when odontoblasts were present alongside ameloblasts, genes coding for enamel proteins were more strongly expressed than with ameloblasts alone.
拥有这两种细胞类型似乎是至关重要的:当成牙釉质细胞和成釉细胞同时存在时，编码牙釉质蛋白的基因比单独存在成釉细胞时表达得更强烈。
For now, the work is more a proof of concept than a prototype of an imminent medical treatment.
目前，这项工作更多的是一个概念证明，而不是一个即将到来的医学治疗原型。
The next step, says Dr Ruohola-Baker, is to try to boost enamel production even further, with a view to eventually beginning clinical trials.
罗霍拉-贝克博士说，下一阶段是进一步促进牙釉质的产生，并最终开始临床试验。
The hope is that, one day, medical versions of the team’s organoids could be used as biological implants, to regenerate a patient’s decayed teeth.
希望有一天，该团队医学版本的类器官可以用作生物植入物，以帮助患者的蛀牙新生。
Stem-cell-based therapies are not the only ones heading to clinical trials.
干细胞疗法并不是唯一进入临床试验的疗法。
Another class of treatments is known as biomimetic repair.
另一类治疗被称为仿生修复。
This involves rebuilding the tooth crown using synthetic proteins, which are similar, but not quite identical, to human enamel.
这包括使用合成蛋白质重建牙冠，这种蛋白质与人类牙釉质相似，但并不完全相同。
Unlike stem-cell treatments, the proteins could be included in toothpaste, mouthwash and even cough drops.
与干细胞疗法不同的是，这种蛋白质可以被添加到牙膏、漱口水甚至止咳药水中。
But synthetic formulations can be less durable than human enamel.
但合成配方可能不如人类牙釉质耐用。
It will take time for either technology to arrive in the clinic.
这两种技术都需要一段时间才能进入临床。
One question is just how durable the enamel made by stem-cell-derived ameloblasts proves to be.
还存在一个问题，由干细胞衍生成釉细胞制成的牙釉质究竟有多耐用。
Another is how best to deliver the stem cells to a patient’s mouth.
另一个问题是如何最好地将干细胞输送到病人的口腔。
But these findings are promising.
但这些发现都是前途无量的。
As any dentist will tell you, prevention is better than cure.
任何牙医都会告诉你，预防胜于治疗。
But a better cure would be welcome nonetheless.
尽管如此，更好的治疗方法仍将大受欢迎。
