Towards Unraveling the Human Tooth Transcriptome: The Dentome

The goal of the study was to characterize the transcriptome profiles of human ameloblasts and odontoblasts, evaluate molecular pathways and advance our knowledge of the human "dentome". Laser capture microdissection was used to isolate odontoblasts and ameloblasts from human tooth buds (15-20week gestational age) from 4 fetuses. RNA was examined using Agilent 41k whole genome arrays at 2 different stages of enamel formation, presecretory and secretory. Probe detection was considered against the array negative control to control for background noise. Differential expression was examined using Significance Analysis of Microarrays (SAM) 4.0 between different cell types and developmental stages with a false discovery rate of 20%. Pathway analysis was conducted using Ingenuity Pathway Analysis software. We found that during primary tooth formation, odontoblasts expressed 14,802 genes, presecretory ameloblasts 15,179 genes and secretory ameloblasts 14,526 genes. Genes known to be active during tooth development for each cell type (eg COL1A1, AMELX) were shown to be expressed by our approach. Exploring further into the list of differentially expressed genes between the motile odontoblasts and non-motile presecretory ameloblasts we found several genes of interest that could be involved in cell movement (FN1, LUM, ASTN1). Furthermore, our analysis indicated that the Phospholipase C and ERK5 pathways, that are important for cell movement, were activated in the motile odontoblasts. In addition our pathway analysis identified WNT3A and TGFB1 as important upstream contributors. Recent studies implicate these genes in the development of Schimke immuno-osseous dysplasia. The utility of laser capture microdissection can be a valuable tool in the examination of specific tissues or cell populations present in human tooth buds. Advancing our knowledge of the human dentome and related molecular pathways provides new insights into the complex mechanisms regulating odontogenesis and biomineralization. This knowledge could prove useful in future studies of odontogenic related pathologies.