Related Experiment Video
Updated: Oct 13, 2025

Using Confocal Analysis of Xenopus laevis to Investigate Modulators of Wnt and Shh Morphogen Gradients
Published on: December 14, 2015
Intertwined Signaling Pathways Governing Tooth Development: A Give-and-Take Between Canonical Wnt and Shh
Florian Hermans1,2, Lara Hemeryck1, Ivo Lambrichts2
1Laboratory of Tissue Plasticity in Health and Disease, Cluster of Stem Cell and Developmental Biology, Department of Development and Regeneration, Leuven Stem Cell Institute, KU Leuven (University of Leuven), Leuven, Belgium.
Abstract:
Teeth play essential roles in life. Their development relies on reciprocal interactions between the ectoderm-derived dental epithelium and the underlying neural crest-originated mesenchyme. This odontogenic process serves as a prototype model for the development of ectodermal appendages. In the mouse, developing teeth go through distinct morphological phases that are tightly controlled by epithelial signaling centers. Crucial molecular regulators of odontogenesis include the evolutionarily conserved Wnt, BMP, FGF and sonic hedgehog (Shh) pathways. These signaling modules do not act on their own, but are closely intertwined during tooth development, thereby outlining the path to be taken by specific cell populations including the resident dental stem cells. Recently, pivotal Wnt-Shh interaction and feedback loops have been uncovered during odontogenesis, showing conservation in other developing ectodermal appendages. This review provides an integrated overview of the interplay between canonical Wnt and Shh throughout mouse tooth formation stages, extending from the initiation of dental placode to the fully formed adult tooth.
Related Concept Videos
Non-Canonical Wnt Signaling Pathways
Canonical Wnt Signaling Pathway
Hedgehog Signaling Pathway
Role Of Notch Signalling In Intestinal Stem Cell Renewal
Direct cell-to-cell contact is needed for the activation of Notch signaling. The signal is initiated when a notch ligand binds to a receptor on an adjacent cell, also...
Notch Signaling Pathway
The Notch gene came into the limelight in 1914 after the discovery that its mutation in Drosophila melanogaster leads to a serrated (or "notched") wing margin phenotype. It was not...
Role of Ephrin-Eph Signalling in Intestinal Stem Cell Renewal

