PUBLICATION

Telomerase Expression in Medaka ( Oryzias melastigma) Pharyngeal Teeth

Authors
Tan, W.H., Witten, P.E., Winkler, C., Au, D.W.T., Huysseune, A.
ID
ZDB-PUB-170523-7
Date
2017
Source
Journal of dental research   96: 678-684 (Journal)
Registered Authors
Huysseune, Ann, Winkler, Christoph, Witten, P. Eckhard
Keywords
dental papilla, enamel organ, regeneration, stem cells, tert (telomerase reverse transcriptase) gene, zebrafish
MeSH Terms
  • Animals
  • Fish Proteins/metabolism
  • Immunoenzyme Techniques
  • In Situ Hybridization
  • Octamer Transcription Factor-3/metabolism
  • Odontogenesis/physiology*
  • Oryzias*
  • Pharynx/anatomy & histology
  • Pharynx/enzymology*
  • Receptors, G-Protein-Coupled/metabolism
  • Telomerase/metabolism*
PubMed
28530472 Full text @ J. Dent. Res.
Abstract
Nonmammalian vertebrates have the capacity of lifelong tooth replacement. In all vertebrates, tooth formation requires contact and interaction between the oral or pharyngeal epithelium and the underlying mesenchyme. To secure lifelong replacement, the presence of odontogenic stem cells has been postulated, particularly in the epithelial compartment. This study uses an advanced teleost fish species, the marine medaka Oryzias melastigma, a close relative to Oryzias latipes, to examine the expression and distribution of telomerase reverse transcriptase (Tert), the catalytic unit of telomerase, in developing pharyngeal teeth and to relate these data to the proliferative activity of the cells. The data are complemented by expression analysis of the pluripotency marker oct4 and bona fide stem cell marker lgr5. Tert distribution and tert expression in developing tooth germs show a dynamic spatiotemporal pattern. Tert is present first in the mesenchyme but is downregulated as the odontoblasts differentiate. In contrast, in the epithelial enamel organ, Tert is absent during early stages of tooth formation and upregulated first in ameloblasts. Later, Tert is expressed and immunolocalized throughout the entire inner enamel epithelium. The pattern of Tert distribution is largely mutually exclusive with that of proliferating cell nuclear antigen (PCNA) immunoreactivity: highly proliferative cells, as revealed by PCNA staining, are negative for Tert; conversely, PCNA-negative cells are Tert-positive. Only the early condensed mesenchyme is both Tert- and PCNA-positive. The absence of tert-positive cells in the epithelial compartment of early tooth germs is underscored by the absence of oct4- and lgr5-positive cells, suggesting ways other than stem cell involvement to secure continuous renewal.
Genes / Markers
Figures
Expression
Phenotype
Mutations / Transgenics
Human Disease / Model
Sequence Targeting Reagents
Fish
Antibodies
Orthology
Engineered Foreign Genes
Mapping