Heikinheimo K, Voutilainen R, Happonen R P, Miettinen P J
Department of Oral Pathology, University of Turku, Finland.
Int J Dev Biol. 1993 Sep;37(3):387-96.
Epidermal growth factor (EGF) and transforming growth factor-alpha (TGF-alpha) regulate cell proliferation and functional maturation through the EGF receptor (EGF-R). Their roles in human tooth development and odontogenic tumorigenesis have not been explored. We studied the expression of EGF, TGF-alpha and EGF-R in human fetal teeth (cap stage to early hard tissue formation) and various odontogenic tumors. EGF-R mRNA and immunoreactive cells were mostly located in odontogenic epithelium. EGF-R expression was subject to temporospatial variation at different stages of tooth development. EGF and TGF-alpha mRNAs were detected in fetal teeth only by the reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR). However, EGF and TGF-alpha immunoreactive cells were demonstrated in epithelial elements of tooth germ, suggesting that the peptides partially originate from non-odontogenic sources. In odontogenic tumors, EGF-R mRNA and immunoreactivity were confined to neoplastic epithelium. Transcripts for TGF-alpha but not for EGF were detected in tumors of odontogenic epithelial, epithelial-ectomesenchymal and ectomesenchymal origins. It is concluded that regulation of EGF-R expression is developmentally regulated in human odontogenesis. Furthermore, the odontogenic epithelium is the main target tissue for both EGF and TGF-alpha during tooth development. TGF-alpha and its receptor may also be involved in odontogenic tumorigenesis.
表皮生长因子（EGF）和转化生长因子-α（TGF-α）通过表皮生长因子受体（EGF-R）调节细胞增殖和功能成熟。它们在人类牙齿发育和牙源性肿瘤发生中的作用尚未得到研究。我们研究了EGF、TGF-α和EGF-R在人类胎儿牙齿（帽状期至早期硬组织形成）和各种牙源性肿瘤中的表达。EGF-R mRNA和免疫反应性细胞主要位于牙源性上皮。在牙齿发育的不同阶段，EGF-R表达存在时空变化。仅通过逆转录聚合酶链反应（RT-PCR）在胎儿牙齿中检测到EGF和TGF-α mRNA。然而，在牙胚的上皮成分中证实了EGF和TGF-α免疫反应性细胞，这表明这些肽部分来源于非牙源性。在牙源性肿瘤中，EGF-R mRNA和免疫反应性局限于肿瘤上皮。在牙源性上皮、上皮-外胚间充质和外胚间充质来源的肿瘤中检测到TGF-α转录本，但未检测到EGF转录本。结论是，在人类牙齿发生过程中，EGF-R表达的调节受发育调控。此外，在牙齿发育过程中，牙源性上皮是EGF和TGF-α的主要靶组织。TGF-α及其受体也可能参与牙源性肿瘤的发生。
