Abstracts of papers presented at the 23rd Genetics Society's Mammalian Genetics and Development Workshop held at the Institute of Child Health, University College London on 22nd November 2012

摘要

The growth of the tooth and alveolar bone is coordinatedso that a studied distance always separatesthe two. We have called this distance, the tooth-boneinterface (TBI). Lack of mineralization, a crucial featureof the TBI, creates the space for the developingtooth to grow and the soft tissues of the periodontiumto develop. No studies have been done to understandthe signals that maintain the bone-free TBI, or theinfluence of the TBI on tooth development. We haveinvestigated the impact of the developing alveolarbone on the size and development of the mouse firstmolar (M1). We evaluated the growth and osteoclastsdistribution of the M1 in explant cultures using twomethods, isolation of the M1 from the surroundingalveolar bone, and enhancement of osteoclastogenesisthrough RANK-RANKL signalling after treatmentwith RANKL, an osteoclast activator. Both methodsshowed a significant increase in the size of M1. Ourdata indicate that alveolar bone and RANKL regulatetooth size without altering development and osteoclastsare indispensable in promoting theformation of the TBI. We intend to further investigatethe interactions between the tooth and alveolar boneduring development, looking at the roles of othergenes involved in TBI formation.