title: Altered distribution of Ghrelin protein in mice molar development.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Ghrelin, an appetite-stimulating hormone, plays diverse regulatory functions in cell growth, proliferation, differentiation and apoptosis during mammalian development. There is limited information currently available regarding Ghrelin expression during mammalian tooth development, thus we aimed to establish the spatiotemporal expression of Ghrelin during murine molar odontogenesis.
  
  
  METHODS
  Immunohistochemistry was performed to detect the expression pattern of Ghrelin in mandible molar from E15.5 to PN7 during murine tooth development.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The results showed that Ghrelin initially expressed in the inner enamel epithelium and the adjacent mesenchymal cells below, further with persistent expression in the ameloblasts and odontoblasts throughout the following developmental stages. In addition, Ghrelin was also present in Hertwig's epithelial root sheath at the beginning of tooth root formation.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  These results suggest that Ghrelin was present in tooth organs throughout the stages of tooth development, especially in ameloblasts and odontoblasts with little spatiotemporal expression differences. However, the potential regulatory roles of this hormone in tooth development still need to be validated by functional studies.
authors.affiliation: Department of Bone Metabolism, School of Stomatology, Shandong University, Shandong Provincial Key Laboratory of Oral Tissue Regeneration, Jinan, China; Stomatology Department of Jining Medical University, China.
authors.forename: Bo
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.affiliation: Department of Bone Metabolism, School of Stomatology, Shandong University, Shandong Provincial Key Laboratory of Oral Tissue Regeneration, Jinan, China.
authors.forename: Xiuchun
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Han
authors.affiliation: Department of Bone Metabolism, School of Stomatology, Shandong University, Shandong Provincial Key Laboratory of Oral Tissue Regeneration, Jinan, China.
authors.forename: Wei
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Feng
authors.affiliation: Department of Bone Metabolism, School of Stomatology, Shandong University, Shandong Provincial Key Laboratory of Oral Tissue Regeneration, Jinan, China.
authors.forename: Jian
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Cui
authors.affiliation: Department of Developmental Biology of Hard Tissue, Graduate School of Dental Medicine, Hokkaido University, Sapporo, Japan.
authors.forename: Tomoka
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Hasegawa
authors.affiliation: Department of Developmental Biology of Hard Tissue, Graduate School of Dental Medicine, Hokkaido University, Sapporo, Japan.
authors.forename: Norio
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Amizuka
authors.affiliation: Department of Bone Metabolism, School of Stomatology, Shandong University, Shandong Provincial Key Laboratory of Oral Tissue Regeneration, Jinan, China.
authors.forename: Xin
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Xu
authors.affiliation: Department of Bone Metabolism, School of Stomatology, Shandong University, Shandong Provincial Key Laboratory of Oral Tissue Regeneration, Jinan, China. Electronic address: liminqi@sdu.edu.cn.
authors.forename: Minqi
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Li
mesh_terms: D000565:Ameloblasts / Q000166:cytology / Q000378:metabolism; D000818:Animals; D017209:Apoptosis / Q000187:drug effects; D002454:Cell Differentiation / Q000187:drug effects; D049109:Cell Proliferation / Q000187:drug effects; D003743:Dental Enamel / Q000166:cytology / Q000196:embryology / Q000378:metabolism; D004658:Enamel Organ / Q000196:embryology / Q000254:growth & development / Q000378:metabolism; D004848:Epithelium / Q000196:embryology / Q000378:metabolism; D005260:Female; D054439:Ghrelin / Q000096:biosynthesis* / Q000378:metabolism*; D007150:Immunohistochemistry; D051379:Mice; D008813:Mice, Inbred ICR; D008963:Molar / Q000166:cytology / Q000187:drug effects / Q000254:growth & development / Q000378:metabolism*; D009804:Odontoblasts / Q000166:cytology / Q000378:metabolism; D009805:Odontogenesis / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology; D011247:Pregnancy; D014083:Tooth Germ / Q000196:embryology / Q000254:growth & development / Q000378:metabolism; D014092:Tooth Root / Q000196:embryology / Q000254:growth & development / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: D054439:Ghrelin
keywords: Ameloblast; Enamel epithelium; Ghrelin; Odontoblast; Odontogenesis