Dental News - Researchers examine regenerative potential of mice teeth

Dental Tribune UK

Thu. 21. February 2019

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LONDON, UK: The concept of regrowing teeth is considered somewhat of a holy grail in dentistry. Though most reptiles and fish have multiple sets of teeth throughout their lifetimes, most mammals only have one set of replacement teeth—and sometimes not even that. A new analysis of mouse tooth development has shed new light on why this tooth regeneration happens, and the findings may be relevant to the future of human tooth replacement.

Prof. Abigail Tucker, Dean for Research at the Faculty of Dentistry, Oral and Craniofacial Sciences at King’s College London, and Elena Popa, a doctoral candidate at the Centre for Craniofacial and Regenerative Biology in the Division of Craniofacial Development and Stem Cell Biology at King’s, conducted a molecular analysis of mouse tooth development to better understand why they only have a single set of teeth with no replacement.

The researchers were able to pinpoint why mice do not generate replacement teeth by comparing the gene expression in the dental laminae of mice with those of minipigs, animals which are able to generate a replacement set of teeth.

By studying Wnt signalling, which is known to be required for tooth replacement in other vertebrates, the researchers were able to show that Wnt activity is absent in the rudimental successional dental laminae (RSDL) of mice. Though this structure initially forms in mice, it subsequently disappears, halting the generation of another set of teeth.

Using sophisticated genetic techniques, Tucker and Popa were able to activate Wnt signalling in the mice’s RSDL at certain stages of development. This revitalised the structure and consequently led to the formation of additional teeth. These results demonstrate the potential of RSDL as a source for replacement teeth in mice and provide an experimental system suitable for studying the mechanisms behind tooth regeneration.

“Why the potential for tooth replacement varies so much across vertebrates is an intriguing question,” said Popa. “Our results show that, although the mouse normally does not form a second replacement set of teeth, it still has the potential to do so given the right signals.”

In addition, the researchers found that culturing the RSDL in isolation stimulated its tooth-forming potential, suggesting that the first generation of teeth might prevent replacement teeth from developing.

“This is relevant to human tooth replacement, as structures similar to the RSDL have been identified next to the permanent teeth during development,” Tucker explained. “In normal development of our teeth, therefore, the second set or permanent tooth may inhibit the generation of a third set of teeth.”

The study, titled “Revitalising the rudimentary replacement dentition in the mouse”, was published in the February 2019 issue of Development and can be viewed here.

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