Sp6 Downregulation of Follistatin Gene Expression in Ameloblasts
January 2008
in “
Journal of medical investigation
”
TLDR Sp6 promotes tooth development by reducing follistatin levels.
The study investigated the role of Sp6, a transcription factor, in tooth development by using an Sp6-overproducing cell line, CHA9, derived from rat dental epithelia. Sp6 overproduction was found to accelerate cell proliferation and induce ameloblast differentiation. Genome-wide screening revealed that Sp6 up-regulated 448 genes and down-regulated 500 genes, including a significant 22.4-fold reduction in follistatin expression, a BMP antagonist. Restoring follistatin levels through Sp6-antisense transfection confirmed that Sp6 regulates follistatin gene expression. The findings suggested that Sp6 promotes amelogenesis by inhibiting follistatin gene expression.
