Essential Roles of Bone Morphogenetic Protein-1 and Mammalian Tolloid-like 1 in Postnatal Root Dentin Formation

Mutations in the proteinase bone morphogenetic protein-1 (BMP1) were recently identified in patients with osteogenesis imperfecta, which can be associated with type 1 dentinogenesis imperfecta. BMP1 is co-expressed in various tissues and has overlapping activities with the closely related proteinase mammalian tolloid-like 1 (TLL1). In this study we investigated whether removing the overlapping activities of BMP1 and TLL1 affects the mineralization of tooth root dentin.

Floxed alleles of the BMP1 and TLL1 genes were excised via ubiquitously expressed Cre induced by tamoxifen treatment beginning at 3 days of age (harvested at 3 weeks of age) or beginning at 4 weeks of age (harvested at 8 weeks of age). Multiple techniques, including x-ray analysis, double-labeling with calcein and alizarin red stains for measurement of dentin formation rate, and histologic and immunostaining assays, were used to analyze the dentin phenotype.

BMP1/TLL1 double knockout mice displayed short and thin root dentin, defects in dentin mineralization, and delayed tooth eruption. Molecular mechanism studies revealed accumulation of collagens in dentin and a sharp reduction in non-collagenous proteins such as dentin matrix protein 1 and dentin sialophosphoprotein. Furthermore, we found a strong reduction in tartrate-resistant acid phosphatase, which is likely caused by defects in bone cells.

BMP1/TLL1 appear to play crucial roles in maintaining extracellular matrix homeostasis essential to root formation and dentin mineralization.