Identification of rat enamel organ RNA transcripts using differential-display

Enamel formation is a complex process which involves the expression of a number of genes, the most obvious being those related to the mineralized extracellular matrix. In this study the differential-display technique, first described by Liang and Pardee, has been used to identify genes specifically expressed in enamel organ cells. By comparing results obtained from RNA derived from rat enamel organ with RNA derived from other cellular sources, a number of differentially expressed transcripts have been identified. The nucleotide sequences of two of these have been analyzed and shown to have no homology with any previously published sequences. Further analysis will provide information on the type of protein that they may encode, their tissue distribution and their potential role in enamel formation.