Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jun 21, 2025

Establishing Organoids from Human Tooth as a Powerful Tool Toward Mechanistic Research and Regenerative Therapy
Published on: April 13, 2022
Epigenetic markers of tooth eruption - DNA methylation and histone acetylation
Anna Westerlund1, Asal Shikhan2, Nina Sabel3
1Department of Orthodontics, Institute of Odontology, The Sahlgrenska Academy, University of Gothenburg, Gothenburg, Sweden.
Abstract:
The present study aimed to evaluate whether epigenetic markers are expressed in the dental follicles surrounding ectopically erupting teeth. Twenty-one dental follicles were collected in 20 adolescent children through surgical exposure of ectopic teeth. The epigenetic modifications of DNA methylation and histone acetylation were evaluated by immunohistochemistry. The results showed cells positive for DNA-methyltransferase 1 (DNMT1), DNA methyltransferase 3 beta (DNMT3B), ten-eleven translocation-2 (TET2), acetyl-histone H3 (AcH3), acetyl-histone H4 (AcH4), 5-methylcytosine (5mC), and 5-hydroxymethylcytosine (5hmC) were present in all the samples. The levels of epigenetic markers representing active chromatin (5hmC, AcH3, AcH4, and TET2) were statistically significantly higher than those of markers representing inactive chromatin (5mC, DNMT3B, DNMT1). In conclusion, follicles in ectopic teeth display major epigenetic modifications. In the follicles, epigenetic markers associated with the activation of bone-related genes are more abundant than markers associated with the inactivation of bone-related genes.
Related Concept Videos
Teeth
In the bud stage, the tooth germ (an aggregation of cells) starts to form in the developing jawbone. During the cap stage, the tooth germ differentiates into enamel organ, dental papilla, and dental sac, which will later develop into the tooth's enamel, dentin...
Epigenetic Regulation
X-chromosome...
Histone Modification
Acetylation
The enzyme histone acetyltransferase adds acetyl group to the histones. Another enzyme, histone...
Inheritance of Chromatin Structures
Genomic Imprinting and Inheritance
The expression of some genes depends on which parent passed the gene to the offspring, through a phenomenon known as...
Spreading of Chromatin Modifications
Writers
The writer...

