Influence of fluoride on secretory pathway of the secretory ameloblast in rat incisor tooth germs exposed to sodium fluoride.

Fluoride, which is an environmental toxicant, is a potent inducer of mottled enamel in humans and rats. To define the influence of fluoride on the secretory pathway in enamel fluorosis, mottled enamel was induced in the incisor tooth germs of rats by subcutaneous injections of sodium fluoride for 4 days, and then morphological and cytochemical changes of the secretory ameloblast were examined in the tooth germs with HRP-labeled lectin (Con A, GS-I, SBA and PNA) and En3 antibody labeling amelogenins. The accumulation of small vesicles on the route of the secretory pathway between the rER and the Golgi apparatus, disorder of Golgi stacks, and formation of abnormal large granules in distal cytoplasm were seen in the secretory ameloblast. Lectin staining patterns of the secretory ameloblast indicated the disturbance of the vesicular transport between the rER and the Golgi apparatus, and disorganization of the Golgi stack. Immunolabeling of the cell showed disruption of the sorting and fusion process on the secretory pathway. These results suggest that the fluoride disturbs the intracellular transport in the synthesis-secretory pathway of the ameloblast, and that this effect of fluoride on the synthesis-secretory pathway participates in the formation of enamel fluorosis.