Department of Systems BioMedicine, National Research Institute for Child Health and Development, Setagaya, Japan.
Dev Dyn. 2012 Jul;241(7):1217-26. doi: 10.1002/dvdy.23808. Epub 2012 Jun 6.
The mechanism of tooth development is a complex process regulated by numerous genes including transcription factors, growth factors, and other intra- and extracellular molecules. Especially, transcription factors play a central role in gene expression, regulating a wide spectrum of biological processes including organogenesis. Substantial evidence has been demonstrated by a number of studies using genetically engineered animal models. However, detailed molecular mechanisms of tooth development have not been completely elucidated, partially because numerous genes that play essential roles in tooth development remain unidentified.
In this study, we conducted an expression-based screening using gene expression database and in situ hybridization assays. Based on the gene expression database "EMBRYS," 207 out of 1,520 genes were expressed in the maxillary and/or mandibular processes and thus were selected for further analysis by section in situ hybridization. Among these candidates, 28 genes were newly identified as potential factors associated with tooth development by in situ hybridization assays with frontal sections of embryonic day 13.5 and 14.5 mouse embryos. The expression patterns were also examined at embryonic day 16.5 and 18.5.
These results will contribute to elucidating the mechanisms of tooth development and to improving the technology for regeneration of tooth.
牙齿发育的机制是一个复杂的过程，受许多基因调控，包括转录因子、生长因子和其他细胞内和细胞外分子。特别是，转录因子在基因表达中起着核心作用，调节包括器官发生在内的广泛的生物过程。大量的证据已经通过使用基因工程动物模型的多项研究得到证明。然而，牙齿发育的详细分子机制尚未完全阐明，部分原因是许多在牙齿发育中起重要作用的基因仍未被识别。
在这项研究中，我们使用基因表达数据库和原位杂交分析进行了基于表达的筛选。根据基因表达数据库“EMBRYS”，在 1520 个基因中，有 207 个在上颌和/或下颌突中表达，因此被选择用于进一步通过胚胎第 13.5 天和 14.5 天的小鼠胚胎的切片原位杂交进行分析。在这些候选者中，通过对胚胎第 13.5 天和 14.5 天的小鼠胚胎的正面切片进行原位杂交，有 28 个基因被新鉴定为与牙齿发育相关的潜在因子。还在胚胎第 16.5 天和 18.5 天检查了表达模式。
这些结果将有助于阐明牙齿发育的机制，并提高牙齿再生的技术。
