Recent progress in elucidation of mechanisms of tooth development was reviewed. Many genes expressed during tooth development have been identified. For example, homeobox genes such as
Msx,
Dlx,
Barx and peptide growth factors such as Sonic hedgehog (SHH), BMP, FGF, HGF, etc. are expressed in tooth buds and probably play important roles for tooth morphogenesis. Since
Msx,
Dlx, and
Barx are expressed differentially during tooth formation, combination of expression patterns of these genes may be related to dentition and tooth morphology. On the other hand, differentiation of the tooth bud may be regulated by epithelial-mesenchymal interaction which is mediated by SHH, BMP4, BMP2, FGF4, and Notchs. It is interesting to note that these genes are also expressed during development of various organs other than tooth. Furthermore, they are vertebrate homologues of
Drosophila genes which functions during insect morphogenesis. Thus, it seems likely that fundamental mechanisms underlying tooth development are common over other organs such as limbs, guts and lungs in vertebrates as well as in insects.
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