Abstract
The junctional epithelium (JE) is an epithelial component that is directly attached to the tooth surface and has a protective function against periodontal diseases. In this study, we determined the origin of the JE using a bioengineered tooth technique. We transplanted the bioengineered tooth germ into the alveolar bone with an epithelial component that expressed green fluorescence protein. The reduced enamel epithelium from the bioengineered tooth fused with the oral epithelium, and the JE was apparently formed around the bioengineered tooth 50 days after transplantation. Importantly, the JE exhibited green fluorescence for at least 140 days after transplantation, suggesting that the JE was not replaced by oral epithelium. Therefore, our results demonstrated that the origin of the JE was the odontogenic epithelium, and odontogenic epithelium-derived JE was maintained for a relatively long period.
Highlights
The junctional epithelium (JE) is an epithelial component that is directly attached to the tooth surface and has a protective function against periodontal diseases
The tooth germ structure was observed in the alveolar bone of the mice 16 days after transplantation, and the green fluorescence protein (GFP) fluorescence was distributed in the enamel epithelium of the bioengineered tooth but not in the odontoblast, dental pulp, or periodontal ligament, which is differentiated from the dental papilla (Fig. 1c–f)
The reduced enamel epithelium fused with the oral epithelium that was partially attached to the enamel and initially formed the primary JE (Fig. 1d–f)
Summary
The junctional epithelium (JE) is an epithelial component that is directly attached to the tooth surface and has a protective function against periodontal diseases. Several studies have reported that the JE originates not from the oral epithelium but from the reduced enamel epithelium, which is the odontogenic epithelium that remains around the enamel surface of an erupting tooth[10,11,12,13,14,15,16]. Whether the reduced enamel epithelium-derived JE is In the present study, we clarified the origin of the JE using a maintained for a lifetime without replacement by the oral epithe- bioengineered tooth germ method20,21(Fig. 1a).
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