Expression of DLX5 during human embryonic craniofacial development

Abstract

Dlx (distal-less gene) homeogenes encode transcription factors that are involved in the patterning of orofacial skeleton derived from cephalic neural crest cells. In order to study the role of DLX genes during embryonic development in human, DLX5 expression pattern was investigated in 6- to 11-week-old human embryos. A DLX5 PCR fragment was amplified from a human dental cDNA library subcloned and used for in situ hybridization investigations. DLX5 gene expression was primarily detected in the mandible at 6 weeks and then, after in the maxilla. DLX5 gene expression became restricted to progenitor cells of developing tooth germs, bones and cartilages of mandible and maxilla. During odontogenesis from bud to late cap stages, DLX5 transcripts were present in both dental epithelium and mesenchyme tissues. DLX5 expression was restricted to few cells in the vestibular aspect of the dental epithelium, while DLX5 mRNA signal was more widely distributed in dental mesenchyme. The observed expression pattern of DLX5 homeogene extends the proposed site-specific combination of homeogene expression in neural crest derived cells to human specific dentition. Furthermore, during the bud and cap stages of tooth morphogenesis, the asymmetric expression of DLX5 in the dental epithelium and dental mesenchyme may contribute to the complex patterning of human tooth shape.