[3H]glucosamine and [3H]proline radioautography of embryonic mouse dental basement membrane.

[3H]proline and [3H]glucosamine radioautography was performed to analyze the labeling pattern of mouse embryonic dental basement membrane before and during odontoblast terminal differentiation. Sixteen- and eighteen-day-old first lower molars and trypsin-isolated enamel organs, as well as EDTA-isolated dental papillae, were used. Continuous labeling for 12 to 24 hr was required with [3H]proline to obtain a clear labeling of epithelial-mesenchymal junction in intact tooth germs or accumulation of surface label in trypsin-isolated enamel organs. With [3H]glucosamine, after 6-hr labeling, the epithelial-mesenchymal junction was heavily labeled and the trypsin-isolated enamel organs accumulated substantial amounts of surface label, corresponding to the redeposited basement membrane. At Day 16 stage, these labels always had a uniform distribution and decreased during chase without any redistribution. At Day 18 stage, when the terminal differentiation of odontoblasts occurred the label accumulated in a unique pattern: much more label was at the epithelial surface corresponding to the top of the cusps than in the apical parts. During chase and only in intact tooth germs epithelial surfaces which had labeled poorly during pulse became labeled, but those labeling heavily during pulse lost label. This pattern existed only in the presence of mesenchyme. EDTA treatment of [3H]glucosamine-labeled teeth enabled us to obtain isolated dental papillae with surface label. Distribution of this label was exactly the same as that for the epithelial-mesenchymal junction of intact teeth. During chase, these dental papillae completely lost the surface label. The mesenchyme seen to control the synthesis and/or the degradation of epithelially derived [3H]glucosamine-labeled material.