Distinct Tooth Regeneration Systems Deploy a Conserved Battery of Genes
September 2020
in “
bioRxiv (Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory)
”
Wnt signaling Lef1 expression Bmpr1a Bmp6 CD34 Gli1 Igfbp5a Lgr4 Lgr6 Nfatc1 Pitx2 successional dental epithelium SDE epithelial appendages hair follicles Wnt Lef1 bone morphogenetic protein receptor type 1A bone morphogenetic protein 6 cluster of differentiation 34 GLI family zinc finger 1 insulin-like growth factor-binding protein 5a leucine-rich repeat-containing G-protein coupled receptor 4 leucine-rich repeat-containing G-protein coupled receptor 6 nuclear factor of activated T-cells, cytoplasmic 1 paired-like homeodomain transcription factor 2 hair
TLDR Different fish use the same genes to regrow teeth.
The study compared tooth regeneration in zebrafish and threespine stickleback, two ray-finned fishes with different dental morphologies. Despite these differences, both species exhibited similar genetic programs during tooth regeneration, including the upregulation of Wnt signaling and Lef1 expression, and the expression of nine specific genes (Bmpr1a, Bmp6, CD34, Gli1, Igfbp5a, Lgr4, Lgr6, Nfatc1, and Pitx2). This suggested a conserved "successional dental epithelium" (SDE) across vertebrates. The findings also implied that similar genetic mechanisms might be used in other epithelial appendages, such as hair follicles in mice.
