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Ameloblastin
Ameloblastin (abbreviated AMBN and also known as Sheathlin or Amelin) is an enamel matrix protein that in humans is encoded by the AMBN gene. Function Ameloblastin is a specific protein found in tooth enamel. Although less than 5% of enamel consists of protein, ameloblastins constitute 5–10% of all enamel protein, making it the second most abundant enamel matrix protein. This protein is formed by ameloblasts during the early secretory to late maturation stages of amelogenesis. Although not completely understood, the function of ameloblastins is believed to be in controlling the elongation of enamel crystals and generally directing enamel mineralization during tooth development. Ameloblastin helps in the growth of a crystalline enameloid layer consisting of randomly oriented short enamel crystals. Ameloblastin cleavage products are found in the sheath space between rod and interrod enamel, while intact ameloblastin accumulates on the enamel rods. This difference in localization ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Tooth Enamel
Tooth enamel is one of the four major Tissue (biology), tissues that make up the tooth in humans and many other animals, including some species of fish. It makes up the normally visible part of the tooth, covering the Crown (tooth), crown. The other major tissues are dentin, cementum, and Pulp (tooth), dental pulp. It is a very hard, white to off-white, highly mineralised substance that acts as a barrier to protect the tooth but can become susceptible to degradation, especially by acids from food and drink. Calcium hardens the tooth enamel. In rare circumstances enamel fails to form, leaving the underlying dentin exposed on the surface. Features Enamel is the hardest substance in the human body and contains the highest percentage of minerals (at 96%),Ross ''et al.'', p. 485 with water and organic material composing the rest.Ten Cate's Oral Histology, Nancy, Elsevier, pp. 70–94 The primary mineral is hydroxyapatite, which is a crystalline calcium phosphate. Enamel is formed o ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Amelogenesis
Amelogenesis is the formation of enamel on teeth and begins when the crown is forming during the advanced bell stage of tooth development after dentinogenesis forms a first layer of dentin. Dentin must be present for enamel to be formed. Ameloblasts must also be present for dentinogenesis to continue. A message is sent from the newly differentiated odontoblasts to the inner enamel epithelium (IEE) that causes epithelial cells to further differentiate into active secretory ameloblasts. Dentinogenesis is in turn dependent on signals from the differentiating IEE in order for the process to continue. This prerequisite is an example of the biological concept known as ''reciprocal induction'', in this instance between mesenchymal and epithelial cells. Stages Amelogenesis is considered to have three stages. The first stage is known as the inductive stage, the second is the secretory stage, and the third stage is known as the maturation stage. During the inductive stage, ameloblast di ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Tooth Development
Tooth development or odontogenesis is the complex process by which teeth form from embryonic cells, grow, and erupt into the mouth. For human teeth to have a healthy oral environment, all parts of the tooth must develop during appropriate stages of fetal development. Primary (baby) teeth start to form between the sixth and eighth week of prenatal development, and permanent teeth begin to form in the twentieth week.Ten Cate's Oral Histology, Nanci, Elsevier, 2013, pages 70-94 If teeth do not start to develop at or near these times, they will not develop at all, resulting in hypodontia or anodontia. A significant amount of research has focused on determining the processes that initiate tooth development. It is widely accepted that there is a factor within the tissues of the first pharyngeal arch that is necessary for the development of teeth. Overview The tooth germ is an aggregation of cells that eventually forms a tooth.University of Texas Medical Branch. These cells are de ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Amelogenin
Amelogenins are a group of protein isoforms produced by alternative splicing or proteolysis from the ''AMELX'' gene, on the X chromosome, and also the ''AMELY'' gene in males, on the Y chromosome. They are involved in amelogenesis, the development of enamel. Amelogenins are type of extracellular matrix protein, which, together with ameloblastins, enamelins and tuftelins, direct the mineralization of enamel to form a highly organized matrix of rods, interrod crystal and proteins. Although the precise role of amelogenin(s) in regulating the mineralization process is unknown, it is known that amelogenins are abundant during amelogenesis. Developing human enamel contains about 70% protein, 90% of which are amelogenins. Function Amelogenins are believed to be involved in the organizing of enamel rods during tooth development. The latest research indicates that these proteins regulate the initiation and growth of hydroxyapatite crystals during the mineralization of enamel. In add ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Enamelin
Enamelin is an enamel matrix protein (EMPs), that in humans is encoded by the ''ENAM'' gene. It is part of the non-amelogenins, which comprise 10% of the total enamel matrix proteins. It is one of the key proteins thought to be involved in amelogenesis (enamel development). The formation of enamel's intricate architecture is thought to be rigorously controlled in ameloblasts through interactions of various organic matrix protein molecules that include: enamelin, amelogenin, ameloblastin, tuftelin, dentine sialophosphoprotein, and a variety of enzymes. Enamelin is the largest protein (~168kDa) in the enamel matrix of developing teeth and is the least abundant (encompasses approximately 1-5%) of total enamel matrix proteins. It is present predominantly at the growing enamel surface. Structure Enamelin is thought to be the oldest member of the enamel matrix protein (EMP) family, with animal studies showing remarkable conservation of the gene phylogenetically. All other EMPs are de ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Tuftelin
Tuftelin is an acidic phosphorylated glycoprotein found in tooth enamel. In humans, the Tuftelin protein is encoded by the ''TUFT1'' gene. It is an acidic protein that is thought to play a role in dental enamel mineralization and is implicated in caries susceptibility. It is also thought to be involved with adaptation to hypoxia, mesenchymal stem cell function, and neurotrophin nerve growth factor mediated neuronal differentiation. Classification There are two kinds of enamel proteins: Amelogenins & Nonamelogenins. Tuftelin falls under nonamelogenins. Function This protein is formed for a short time during amelogenesis. The function of tuftelins is under contention, but it is proposed that it acts to start the mineralization process of enamel during tooth development. Other significant proteins in enamel are amelogenins, enamelins, and ameloblastins. Research The human encoding gene for tuftelin (TUFT1) was cloned by Profs. Danny Deutsch and Aharon Palmon from the Hebrew ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Protein
Proteins are large biomolecules and macromolecules that comprise one or more long chains of amino acid residues. Proteins perform a vast array of functions within organisms, including catalysing metabolic reactions, DNA replication, responding to stimuli, providing structure to cells and organisms, and transporting molecules from one location to another. Proteins differ from one another primarily in their sequence of amino acids, which is dictated by the nucleotide sequence of their genes, and which usually results in protein folding into a specific 3D structure that determines its activity. A linear chain of amino acid residues is called a polypeptide. A protein contains at least one long polypeptide. Short polypeptides, containing less than 20–30 residues, are rarely considered to be proteins and are commonly called peptides. The individual amino acid residues are bonded together by peptide bonds and adjacent amino acid residues. The sequence of amino acid residue ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Gene
In biology, the word gene (from , ; "...Wilhelm Johannsen coined the word gene to describe the Mendelian units of heredity..." meaning ''generation'' or ''birth'' or ''gender'') can have several different meanings. The Mendelian gene is a basic unit of heredity and the molecular gene is a sequence of nucleotides in DNA that is transcribed to produce a functional RNA. There are two types of molecular genes: protein-coding genes and noncoding genes. During gene expression, the DNA is first copied into RNA. The RNA can be directly functional or be the intermediate template for a protein that performs a function. The transmission of genes to an organism's offspring is the basis of the inheritance of phenotypic traits. These genes make up different DNA sequences called genotypes. Genotypes along with environmental and developmental factors determine what the phenotypes will be. Most biological traits are under the influence of polygenes (many different genes) as well as gen ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ameloblast
Ameloblasts are cells present only during tooth development that deposit tooth enamel, which is the hard outermost layer of the tooth forming the surface of the crown. Structure Each ameloblast is a columnar cell approximately 4 micrometers in diameter, 40 micrometers in length and is hexagonal in cross section. The secretory end of the ameloblast ends in a six-sided pyramid-like projection known as the Tomes' process. The angulation of the Tomes' process is significant in the orientation of enamel rods, the basic unit of tooth enamel. Distal terminal bars are junctional complexes that separate the Tomes' processes from ameloblast proper. Development Ameloblasts are derived from oral epithelium tissue of ectodermal origin. Their differentiation from preameloblasts (whose origin is from inner enamel epithelium) is a result of signaling from the ectomesenchymal cells of the dental papilla. Initially the preameloblasts will differentiate into presecretory ameloblasts and then into s ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
