Mutations in the human enamelin gene cause autosomal dominant hypoplastic amelogenesis imperfecta in which the affected enamel is thin or absent. Study of enamelin knockout NLS-lacZ knockin mice revealed that mineralization along the distal membrane of ameloblast is deficient, resulting in no true enamel formation. To determine the function of enamelin during enamel formation, we characterized ...

Mutation of distal-less homeobox 3 (DLX3) is responsible for human tricho-dento-osseous syndrome (TDO) with amelogenesis imperfecta, indicating a crucial role of DLX3 in amelogenesis. However, the expression pattern of DLX3 and its specific function in amelogenesis remain largely unknown. The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of DLX3 on enamel matrix protein (EMP) genes. By immun...

The aim of this study was to describe the expression of genes, including ameloblastin (Ambn), amelogenin X chromosome (Amelx), and enamelin (Enam) during early (pre-secretory) tooth development. The expression of these genes has predominantly been studied at post-secretory stages. Deoxyoligonucleotide microarrays were used to study gene expression during development of the murine first molar to...

A fter prelim inary screening had indi­ cated that a new plastic bonding agent, Eastman 910 adhesive, m ost nearly m et the requirem ents o f an adhesive fo r clini­ cal application in dentistry, in vitro and in vivo tests w ere carried out with this adhesive. T h e follow ing factors w ere fou nd to be im portant: ( 1 ) the enam el surface must be clean, etch ed with acid and dry; ( 2 ) contac...

Vestigial structures occur at both the anatomical and molecular levels, but studies documenting the co-occurrence of morphological degeneration in the fossil record and molecular decay in the genome are rare. Here, we use morphology, the fossil record, and phylogenetics to predict the occurrence of "molecular fossils" of the enamelin (ENAM) gene in four different orders of placental mammals (Tu...

Amelogenesis imperfecta (AI) is an inherited tooth disorder affecting tooth enamel formation only. A gene for autosomal dominant AI, the local hypoplastic form, has been localized to a 4 Mb region on chromosome 4q (AIH2). The enamelin gene (ENAM ), has been mapped to chromosome 4q21, to the same region as AIH2, and was recently shown to be mutated in patients with smooth and thin hypoplastic au...

To the Editor : Amelogenesis imperfecta (AI) is a collection of nonsyndromic inherited diseases featuring a variety of abnormal enamel phenotypes, patterns of inheritance, and causative genes. The term is also used to indicate the presence of an enamel phenotype in syndromes. Dental enamel is the most highly mineralized tissue in the body, lacks collagen, and is the product of specialized epith...

Amelogenesis imperfecta is an abnormal formation of the enamel. This anomaly associated with malformation of proteins, such as ameloblastin, enamelin, tuftelin and amelogenin. A few study report, mutation in the AMELX, ENAM, MMP20 and KLK-4 genes have been found to cause amelogenesis imperfecta. Mutations of AMELX, ENAM, MMP20 and KLK-4 genes will alter the structure of protein, that are essent...

Charles Darwin was intrigued with vestigial organs and, in fact, made them a part of his ‘‘long argument’’ for the existence of evolution in the natural world in Chapter 13 of On the Origin of Species. Now on the 150 anniversary of the publication of that seminal work, a study linking vestigial organs with molecular biology with paleontology has shown even more clearly how vestigial organs are ...

Genetic studies have shown that variations in enamel formation genes are associated with caries susceptibility. The aim of this study was to test in vitro whether variants in these genes are associated with dental enamel demineralization in a Streptococcus mutans biofilm model. DNA and enamel samples were obtained from 213 individuals. DNA was extracted from saliva, and 16 single nucleotide pol...