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Murine enamelin: cDNA and derived protein sequences.
C C Hu1, J P Simmer, J D Bartlett
1University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio, School of Dentistry, Department of Pediatric Dentistry, 78284-7888, USA. huj@uthscsa.edu
Connective Tissue Research
|November 4, 2000
Summary
Enamelin, the largest enamel protein, is tooth-specific. This study characterizes murine enamelin, revealing distinct structural features and confirming enamelin
Area of Science:
- Biochemistry
- Molecular Biology
- Developmental Biology
Background:
- Enamelin is the largest protein in tooth enamel.
- Previous research characterized porcine enamelin cDNA.
- Enamelin's role in enamel formation is under investigation.
Purpose of the Study:
- To isolate and characterize cDNA encoding murine enamelin.
- To demonstrate the tooth-specific expression of porcine enamelin.
- To compare murine and porcine enamelin sequences and structures.
Main Methods:
- cDNA cloning and sequencing for murine enamelin.
- Northern blot analysis for tissue-specific gene expression.
- Amino acid and DNA sequence comparison between mouse and pig enamelin.
Main Results:
- Murine enamelin cDNA encodes a 1274-amino acid protein (137 kDa, pI 9.4).
- Porcine enamelin mRNA is detected only in developing teeth.
- Mouse and porcine enamelin share 61% amino acid and 75% DNA identity, with distinct tandem repeat regions.
Conclusions:
- Enamelin expression is specific to developing teeth.
- Murine and porcine enamelin exhibit significant sequence homology but also species-specific structural variations.
- These findings contribute to understanding enamel protein function in tooth development.