| First Author | Barron MJ | Year | 2008 |
| Journal | Hum Mol Genet | Volume | 17 |
| Issue | 22 | Pages | 3509-20 |
| PubMed ID | 18703497 | Mgi Jnum | J:140568 |
| Mgi Id | MGI:3814115 | Doi | 10.1093/hmg/ddn243 |
| Citation | Barron MJ, et al. (2008) The cell adhesion molecule nectin-1 is critical for normal enamel formation in mice. Hum Mol Genet 17(22):3509-20 |
| abstractText | Nectin-1 is a member of a sub-family of immunoglobulin-like adhesion molecules and a component of adherens junctions. In the current study, we have shown that mice lacking nectin-1 exhibit defective enamel formation in their incisor teeth. Although the incisors of nectin-1-null mice were hypomineralized, the protein composition of the enamel matrix was unaltered. While strong immunostaining for nectin-1 was observed at the interface between the maturation-stage ameloblasts and the underlying cells of the stratum intermedium (SI), its absence in nectin-1-null mice correlated with separation of the cell layers at this interface. Numerous, large desmosomes were present at this interface in wild-type mice; however, where adhesion persisted in the mutant mice, the desmosomes were smaller and less numerous. Nectins have been shown to regulate tight junction formation; however, this is the first report showing that they may also participate in the regulation of desmosome assembly. Importantly, our results show that integrity of the SI-ameloblast interface is essential for normal enamel mineralization. |
