Development of the murine periodontium. II. Role of the epithelial root sheath in formation of the periodontal attachment.

Experimental manipulation of the developing murine tooth germ has provided evidence that basement membrane components on the forming root surface are involved in early periodontal attachment formation. The purpose of this investigation was to determine the role of epithelial root sheath (ERS) cells in murine cementogenesis and periodontal ligament formation using tissue separation and recombination techniques. Root dentin specimens, with and without root-associated basement membrane components (D + RBM or D - RBM), were recombined with dental sac in the presence or absence of ERS. Recombinations were cultured for 2 weeks, harvested, and examined by light, electron, and immunofluorescence microscopy. Mineralized tissue formed in all tissue recombinations. However, when ERS was included in recombinations between D + RBM and dental sac, 25% of recombinations formed a periodontal ligament with fibrous attachment of the root specimen to adjacent bone. These results support the hypothesis that root and periodontal ligament formation is influenced by epithelio-mesenchymal interactions and further support a key role for ERS in these processes.