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First published online January 13, 2009

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Dental mesenchyme shows its teeth

During tooth development, the dentition has the potential to generate extra teeth, and it is not clear what prevents this. Here, Pauliina Munne and colleagues show that in the mouse, the dental mesenchyme, which has the potential to induce teeth even from non-dental epithelium, is also involved in restricting tooth number and acts, at least partly, via the BMP and Wnt antagonist Sostdc1 (ectodin) (p. 393). By analysing Sostdc1 mutant mice, which form an extra incisor, the authors establish that the extra tooth is attributable to the loss of Sostdc1 in the dental mesenchyme. Surgically reducing the amount of dental mesenchyme produces extra incisors in wild-type tooth explant cultures; in Sostdc1-deficient explants, it also triggers de novo incisor formation from the epithelium, indicating the presence of additional restrictive mesenchymal factors. The negative regulation of both BMP and Wnt signalling also contributes to this restrictive mesenchymal activity. Thus, dental mesenchyme plays a pivotal dual role in regulating tooth development by both inducing teeth and restricting their number.

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Related articles in Development:

Tinkering with the inductive mesenchyme: Sostdc1 uncovers the role of dental mesenchyme in limiting tooth induction

Pauliina M. Munne, Mark Tummers, Elina Järvinen, Irma Thesleff, and Jukka Jernvall
Development 2009 136: 393-402. [Abstract] [Full Text]  

This Article Full Text (PDF) Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Services Email this article to a friend Related articles in Development Similar articles in this journal Alert me to new issues of the journal Download to citation manager Citing Articles Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Search for Related Content Social Bookmarking                         What's this?