amelogenesis, and was thought to play a role in the initial mineralization of enamel.
Partial tuftelin cDNA sequences were also detected in many different normal as well as cancerous soft tissues, such as eye, brain etc.
Various studies have shown that tuftelin is induced under hypoxic conditions in different tissues and cell lines. More recently application of recombinant human tuftelin brought about recruitment and proliferation of mesenchymal cells, both in the mandible and in the developing tooth. Most of the studies conducted on tuftelin expression used postnatal mice. Virtually little is known about the detailed spatio-temporal expression of tuftelin during embryonic mouse development.
Objectives: Study the spatio-temporal expression pattern of tuftelin in the developing mouse embryonic craniofacial complex of E10.5-E18.5 mouse embryos, focusing on the developing tooth germ.
Methods: Collection of CD1 mouse embryos aged E10.5-E18.5. Isolation of total RNA, RT-PCR, separation on agarose gel, sequencing, protein isolation, Western blot analysis, preparation of paraffin embedded embryos, sectioning, indirect immunohistochemistry.
Results: The results show that tuftelin protein is expressed in various tissues of the developing mouse embryonic craniofacial, such as brain, eye, ganglia, peripheral nerve trunks, tooth germ, cartilage and bone at different developmental stages. Tuftelin expression was evident in the brain as early as E10.5
Conclusions: Tuftelin protein is expressed in some tissues of the craniofacial complex at E10.5, long before the initiation of tooth formation. In the tooth germ, tuftelin protein expression was detected already at E13.5, much earlier than previously reported (E17).
The present results and previous studies indicate that tuftelin might have an important role during mouse embryonic development and differentiation, in several different tissues of the craniofacial complex, and might be a multifunctional protein.
Supported by ISF grant number: 597/02