Amelogenin proteins constitute the major organic contents in forming enamel, but some previously published data indicate that the amelogenin gene could be present in several species lacking teeth or functional enamel. Therefore, amelogenin could have another, still unknown, function other than contributing to enamel formation. In order to test this hypothesis, the presence of this gene has been...

Nucleotide and amino acid sequences of cattle amelogenin, the major protein of forming enamel, were analysed by screening 1547 samples collected from cattle of various breeds. Sequenced was the part of cattle exon six of the AMEL gene (codons from 107 to 186) encompassing so-called hot spot of mutation in the mammals amelogenin gene. The analysis showed the presence of characteristic repeats of...

Human gender identification, based on the amelogenin gene, has important applications in forensic casework, prenatal diagnosis, DNA databasing, and blood sample storage. However, we report on the first known case, in the Israeli population, of an amelogenin sex test failure on a phenotypically normal male. He was typed as a female by both the AmpF STR R © SGM plusTM and GenePrintTM kits. Subseq...

Two features make the tooth an excellent model in the study of evolutionary innovations: the relative simplicity of its structure and the fact that the major tooth-forming genes have been identified in eutherian mammals. To understand the nature of the innovation at the molecular level, it is necessary to identify the homologs of tooth-forming genes in other vertebrates. As a first step toward ...

Periodontal diseases are chronic inflammation caused by particular types of bacteria and have been recognized as a cause of tooth loss in adults. These bacteria which invade periodontal tissue are phagocytosed mainly by monocytes and macrophages in this immune response, and will be presented to lymphocytes. Recently, therapies for regenerating periodontal tissues have been used extensively to t...

Amelogenin is the major enamel matrix protein with key roles in amelogenesis. Although for many decades amelogenin was considered to be exclusively expressed by ameloblasts, more recent studies have shown that amelogenin is also expressed in other dental and no-dental cells. However, amelogenin expression in human tissues remains unclear. Here, we show that amelogenin protein is not only expres...

The use of noninvasive genetic sampling to identify the sex of wild animals is an extremely valuable and important tool in molecular ecology and wildlife conservation. Sex determination using the amelogenin gene has been conducted in many species because only a single pair of primers is required to amplify both X- and Y-linked alleles. However, this method has not been used in field research wi...

sequencing of a part of the amelogenin gene. This gene is lecated on the X and Y chromosomes, and there are 54 nucleotide de]etions on the Y chromosome-specific gene. Forty-seven (26 ma]e and 21 female) DNA samples and 23 (13 ma}e and 1O female) DNA samples, respectively extracted from white blood cells and hairs ofJapanese black bears were analyzed, The primers SE47 and SE48 from this X-Y homo...

Amelogenin is an extracellular protein first identified as a matrix component important for formation of dental enamel during tooth development. Lately, amelogenin has also been found to have positive effects on clinical important areas, such as treatment of periodontal defects, wound healing, and bone regeneration. Here we present a simple method for purification of recombinant human amelogeni...