| First Author | Li CY | Year | 2012 |
| Journal | Dev Biol | Volume | 366 |
| Issue | 2 | Pages | 357-66 |
| PubMed ID | 22537490 | Mgi Jnum | J:185423 |
| Mgi Id | MGI:5428774 | Doi | 10.1016/j.ydbio.2012.03.012 |
| Citation | Li CY, et al. (2012) E-cadherin regulates the behavior and fate of epithelial stem cells and their progeny in the mouse incisor. Dev Biol 366(2):357-66 |
| abstractText | Stem cells are essential for the regeneration and homeostasis of many organs, such as tooth, hair, skin, and intestine. Although human tooth regeneration is limited, a number of animals have evolved continuously growing teeth that provide models of stem cell-based organ renewal. A well-studied model is the mouse incisor, which contains dental epithelial stem cells in structures known as cervical loops. These stem cells produce progeny that proliferate and migrate along the proximo-distal axis of the incisor and differentiate into enamel-forming ameloblasts. Here, we studied the role of E-cadherin in behavior of the stem cells and their progeny. Levels of E-cadherin are highly dynamic in the incisor, such that E-cadherin is expressed in the stem cells, downregulated in the transit-amplifying cells, re-expressed in the pre-ameloblasts and then downregulated again in the ameloblasts. Conditional inactivation of E-cadherin in the cervical loop led to decreased numbers of label-retaining stem cells, increased proliferation, and decreased cell migration in the mouse incisor. Using both genetic and pharmacological approaches, we showed that Fibroblast Growth Factors regulate E-cadherin expression, cell proliferation and migration in the incisor. Together, our data indicate that E-cadherin is an important regulator of stem cells and their progeny during growth of the mouse incisor. |
