Enamel protein and collagen production by cells subcultured from porcine tooth bud explants

Fibroblast (F) and epithelial (E) cells were obtained as primary outgrowths from explants of fetal porcine maxillary molars and subcultured up to four passages in monolayers enriched with either cell type. Histology of a tooth bud after 1 day in culture showed intact odontogenic E cell layers which were the probable source of the E cell outgrowths. After 2 months in culture, the fourth passage E cells demonstrated morphological differentiation by an alteration in cell packing and the formation of domes and nodules, when E and F cells were cocultured. Occasionally the nodules grew to considerable size, indicating the potential of these cells to aggregate and reorganize into odontogenic tissues even on culture dishes. The cells were characterized in monolayer culture by immunocytochemical staining. Laminin and type IV collagen staining was distributed diffusely throughout the culture, whereas type I collagen and osteonectin staining was predominantly localized in the F cells. Radiolabelled proteins from both E and F cell media produced similar collagen patterns (95% type I, 4% type V, 1% other), except that the F cells appeared to produce active collagenase. In addition, the E cells produced two radiolabelled proteins (relative masses of 50,000 and 53,000) that reacted with an affinity-purified antibody directed against porcine amelogenin. These experiments show that cells subcultured from tooth buds and grown in monolayer cultures can be used to study tooth organogenesis in vitro, as well as enamel protein biosynthesis.