The mechanism of signal transduction of perlecan in the tooth enamel organ morphogenesis

点击翻译按钮获取中文摘要

Perlecan, a heparan sulfate proteoglycan, plays an important role in cellular growth, differentiation, adhesion and motility by its interaction with growth factors and cytokines. During odontogenesis, perlecan started to be localized in the central area of the epithelial tooth bud, and with the maturation of the enamel organ, it accumulated in the intercellular spaces of the stellate reticulum.To understand the role of perlecan in enamel organ morphogenesis, we analyzed a keratin 5-perlecan transgenic mice that over-express perlecan in epithelial cells, and examined their tooth germs. The overexpression of perlecan in the enamel organ resulted in irregular morphology of teeth, suggesting that the expression of perlecan regulates growth factor signaling in a stage-dependent manner during each step of the interaction between ameloblast-lineage cells and mesenchymal cells. The time schedule of the intraepithelial expression of perlecan seems to be controlled critically in the process of odontogenesis.