title: Amelotin--a Novel Secreted, Ameloblast-specific Protein.
abstract: We aimed to analyze the differential gene expression in various murine dental tissues, expecting to find novel factors that are involved in tooth formation. We here describe the identification of a novel ameloblast-specific gene, amelotin (AMTN), by differential display polymerase chain-reaction (DD-PCR) analysis of microdissected ameloblasts, odontoblasts, dental pulp, and alveolar bone cells of 10-day-old mouse incisors. The conceptually translated protein sequence was unique and showed significant homology only with its human orthologue. The amelotin genes from mouse and human displayed a similar exon-intron structure and were expressed from loci on chromosomes 5 and 4, respectively, which have been associated with various forms of amelogenesis imperfecta. Expression of amelotin mRNA was restricted to maturation-stage ameloblasts in developing murine molars and incisors. Amelotin protein was efficiently secreted from transfected cells in culture. Taken together, our findings suggest that amelotin is a novel factor produced by ameloblasts that plays a critical role in the formation of dental enamel.
authors.affiliation: Canadian Institutes for Health Research (CIHR) Group in Matrix Dynamics, University of Toronto, Faculty of Dentistry, 150 College Street, Toronto, ON M5S 3E2, Canada.
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Iwasaki
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Bajenova
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Somogyi-Ganss
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Miller
authors.forename: V
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Nguyen
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Nourkeyhani
authors.forename: Y
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Gao
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Wendel
authors.forename: B
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Ganss
mesh_terms: D000539:Alveolar Process / Q000166:cytology / Q000378:metabolism; D000565:Ameloblasts / Q000378:metabolism*; D000566:Amelogenesis / Q000235:genetics; D000818:Animals; D002894:Chromosomes, Human, Pair 4 / Q000235:genetics; D003746:Dental Enamel Proteins / Q000032:analysis* / Q000235:genetics; D003782:Dental Pulp / Q000166:cytology / Q000378:metabolism; D005091:Exons / Q000235:genetics; D006801:Humans; D007438:Introns / Q000235:genetics; D051379:Mice; D009804:Odontoblasts / Q000378:metabolism; D009805:Odontogenesis / Q000235:genetics; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction / Q000379:methods; D017385:Sequence Homology
chemical_list: C507066:Amtn protein, mouse; D003746:Dental Enamel Proteins