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Differential expression of laminin α chains during murine tooth development
Author(s) -
Salmivirta Katriina,
Sorokin Lydia M.,
Ekblom Peter
Publication year - 1997
Publication title -
developmental dynamics
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.634
H-Index - 141
eISSN - 1097-0177
pISSN - 1058-8388
DOI - 10.1002/(sici)1097-0177(199711)210:3<206::aid-aja2>3.0.co;2-k
Subject(s) - biology , laminin , differential (mechanical device) , microbiology and biotechnology , expression (computer science) , extracellular matrix , aerospace engineering , computer science , engineering , programming language
Basement membranes of the developing tooth have been previously shown to contain laminins, but the nature of the laminins have not been described. We here studied the distribution of five different laminin α chains during tooth development. We show that both epithelial and mesenchymal cells produce laminin α chains. The mRNAs of three laminin α chains, α1, α2, and α4, were expressed in the tooth mesenchyme, whereas two, the α3 and α5 chain mRNAs, were found in epithelium. Drastic changes in the expression patterns of the two epithelial chains were found during development. The α5 mRNA was widely expressed in tooth epithelia, and the corresponding protein was evenly distributed along the tooth basement membrane throughout embryonic development. This suggests a role for α5 as a major laminin α chain in tooth basement membrane during embryonic stages. The subsequent disappearance of α5 and the drastic increase in α3A mRNA expression during terminal ameloblast differentiation and enamel secretion suggest that α3A acts as an important chain in the enamel matrix after degradation of tooth basement membrane. These studies show that laminin networks in tooth epithelia form as a result of epithelial–mesenchymal interactions and that the molecular composition of the laminin networks varies drastically during development of tooth. Dev. Dyn. 1997;210:206–215. © 1997 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.