Volume 51 (12): 1673-1679, 2003 Copyright ©The Histochemical Society, Inc. Fibronectin Accelerates the Growth and Differentiation of Ameloblast Lineage Cells In Vitro
Anatomy for Oral Science, Department of Neurology, Kagoshima University Graduate School of Medical and Dental Sciences, Kagoshima, Japan (MJT); Department of Oral Anatomy and Developmental Biology, Osaka University Faculty of Dentistry, Osaka, Japan (TM,TF,MA); and Yukioka School of Allied Health Professions, Osaka, Japan (KK) Correspondence to: Makoto J. Tabata, Anatomy for Oral Science, Department of Neurology, Kagoshima University Graduate School of Medical and Dental Sciences, 8-35-1, Sakuragaoka, Kagoshima 890-8544, Japan. E-mail: mtabata{at}denta.hal.kagoshima-u.ac.jp
During tooth development, the growth and differentiation of ameloblast lineage (AL) cells are regulated by epithelialmesenchymal interactions. To examine the dynamic effects of components of the basement membrane, which is the extracellular matrix (ECM) lying between the epithelium and mesenchyme, we prepared AL cells from the epithelial layer sheet of mandibular incisors of postnatal day 7 rats and cultured them on plates coated with type IV collagen, laminin-1, or fibronectin. The growth of AL cells was supported by type IV collagen and fibronectin but not by laminin-1 in comparison with that on type I collagen as a reference. Clustering and differentiation of AL cells were observed on all matrices examined. AL cells showed normal growth and differentiation at low cell density on fibronectin but not on type I collagen. Furthermore, the population of cytokeratin 14-positive cells on fibronectin was lower than that on other ECM components, suggesting that fibronectin may be a modulator to accelerate the differentiation of AL cells. After the cells had been cultured for 9 days on fibronectin, crystal-like structures were observed. These structures overlaid the cell clusters and were positive for von Kossa staining. These findings indicate that each matrix component has a regulative role in the proliferation and differentiation of AL cells and that fibronectin causes the greatest acceleration of AL cell differentiation. (J Histochem Cytochem 51:16731679, 2003)
Key Words: fibronectin laminin-1 type IV collagen type I collagen ameloblast lineage cells crystal-like structures
THE BASEMENT MEMBRANE (BM), a part of the extracellular matrix (ECM), is the interface between the epithelium and the mesenchyme and is believed to participate in epithelialmesenchymal interactions during organogenesis. During tooth development, type IV collagen, fibronectin, laminin, and nidgen (entactin) are expressed in a stage- and space-specific manner on the BM of murine tooth germs (Salmivirta et al. 1997
AL cells used in this study were prepared from the mandibular incisors of newborn rats and were cultured in complete MCDB medium without serum. These cells show three stages of differentiation under these culture conditions. (a) In the early period, almost all cells are scattered and proliferate well (Matsumura et al. 1998
Primary Culture of AL Cells SpragueDawley (SD) rats were purchased from Nihon Dobutsu (Osaka, Japan). The ameloblast-rich cell layer was prepared from the labial side of mandibular incisors of SD rats of postnatal day 7 (P7) according to Kukita et al. (1992) complete MCDB 153 medium, which is MCDB 153 (Kyokuto; Tokyo, Japan) supplemented with 5 µg/ml insulin, 0.1 mM phosphoetanolamine, 0.1 mM ethanolamine, 1.4 µM hydrocortisone, 0.07 mM CaCl2, and 140 µg/ml bovine pituitary extract (Kyokuto). The cells were inoculated into wells of a 96-well plate at a concentration of 1 x 104 cells/100 µl per well for normal density cultures, 1.2 x 104 cells/100 µl per well for high cell density cultures, and 1.5 x 103 cells/100 µl per well for low cell density cultures. The day of inoculation was designated day 0. The cultures were maintained by changing the medium every 2 days and were incubated in an atmosphere of 5% CO2 in air at 37C.
Preparation of Matrix-coated Plates
Crystal Violet Staining and Densitophotometry
Immunostaining and Densitophotometry
Cell Morphology and Differentiation To examine the effect of the ECM components on cell differentiation, we cultured AL cells on type I collagen, fibronectin, type IV collagen, or laminin-1 and examined them microscopically after immunostaining. AL cells prepared from mandibular incisors of P7 rats were inoculated at a cell density of 1.2 x 104 cells/100 µl/well into 96-well plates and cultured for 5 days. On type I collagen, which was used as the control ECM component, AL cells scattered well, starting at day 0. These scattered cells were immunopositive for c-Met (Figure 1A) , and some of them began to cluster together to make small colonies from day 1. These clustered cells were immunopositive for cytokeratin 14 (Figure 1B). These colonies grew as sheets with a paving stone-like appearance during the culture period. Finally, the cells at the center of the colonies showed differentiation to cells with a tall shape. These tall cells were immunopositive for amelogenin (Figure 1C). Thus, the AL cells showed three differentiation states: scattering, clustering, and tall.
In the case of the other ECM components, the AL cells differentiated as they did on type I collagen except that they showed some individual properties. On fibronectin, AL cells seemed to proliferate well and to scatter better than on type I collagen (Figure 1D). The cell clustering and tall characteristics appeared earlier on fibronectin than on the other ECMs (Figures 1E and 1F). On type IV collagen, the activity of cell scattering seemed to be slightly lower than in the case of type I collagen (Figure 1G), and the size of the clusters was smaller than on type I collagen (Figure 1H). Tall cells were fewer on type IV collagen than on the other ECM components (Figure 1I). On laminin-1, scattering, clusters, and tall cells were observed, but the cell number for each was obviously low (Figures 1J1L).
Cell Growth and Differentiation
Effect of Low Cell Density Cells generally show their dependency on their microenviroment when cultured at a low cell density. Therefore, AL cells prepared from mandibular incisors of P7 rats were inoculated at a density of 1.5 x 103 cells/100 µl/well and cultured for 11 days. This cell density is one-eighth of that in the first experiment in this study (1.2 x 104 cells/100 µl/well). On type I collagen, AL cells did not show any obvious cell growth for the first 7 days (solid lines in Figure 3A) but they did proceed to differentiate (columns in Figure 3A). On fibronectin, the AL cells showed obvious proliferation after day 3 in culture, and the populations of c-Met-positive and amelogenin-positive cells were larger than those on type I collagen. Interestingly, the number of cytokeratin 14-positive cells was lower than that of amelogenin-positive cells, and this tendency was common on both ECM components (cf. shaded columns and black columns in Figure 3).
Crystal-like Structures AL cells prepared from mandibular incisors of P7 rats were inoculated at a density of 1.0 x 104 cells/100 µl/well into 96-well plates and cultured for 9 days. Only on the plates that had been coated with fibronectin did extracellular structures positive for von Kossa staining appear (Figure 4) . These structures, which were first seen on day 7 and seemed to grow, overlaid the cell clusters and appeared as transparent yellowish crystals under the microscope. The position of the structure was near the center of the cell clusters and was also close to the tall cells positive for amelogenin.
Type IV collagen, laminin-1, and fibronectin are components of the BM in tooth germs. Type IV collagen is produced by the tooth germ epithelium and the latter two molecules are synthesized by the tooth germ mesenchyme. In this study, the effect of each of these ECM molecules on growth and differentiation of AL cells was examined. The examination was carried out on primary cultures of AL cells prepared from mandibular incisors of P7 rats, and the results were compared with those obtained for the cells on type I collagen.
Type IV Collagen
Laminin-1
Fibronectin Our results show that the proliferation and differentiation of AL cells were accelerated on fibronectin compared with these activities on type I/IV collagens (Figures 1 and 2). This tendency was especially demonstrated by the experiment using low cell density cultures (Figure 3). Above the cell clusters on fibronectin, we found crystal-like structures that were positive for von Kossa staining (Figure 4), which indicates calcification. These structures appeared on the top of the amelogenin-positive cells, suggesting them to be the product of AL cells in vitro, i.e., enamel. However, the structures themselves did not show any obvious immunoreaction for amelogenin (Figure 4B). Therefore, we do not have sufficient evidence to judge whether or not the structure is enamel. Further careful examination is needed to identify it.
The role of fibronectin in tooth development has been proposed to be that of a mediator in ameloblast-mediated terminal differentiation of odontoblasts (Ruch et al. 1995 In conclusion, each ECM component has a regulative role in the proliferation and differentiation of AL cells. The AL cells grew well on fibronectin in high or low cell density cultures, and their differentiation was accelerated on fibronectin. On collagens, AL cells could grow, but not under the low cell density condition. On laminin-1, the cells showed no obvious growth. On fibronectin, we found crystal-like structures overlying the cell clusters at day 9, indicating that AL cells on a fibronectin substratum may be able to produce enamel in our culture system. These results enable us to conclude that AL cells depend on each component of BM during tooth morphogenesis, i.e., on laminin-1 for detachment from the BM, on type IV collagen for their proliferation (but only when the cell density is evenly high), and on fibronectin for acceleration of their differentiation.
We thank Dr Sawako KoharaTakeshita (Seikagaku Kogyo, Japan) and Dr Hidemitsu Harada (Osaka University, Japan) for technical advice.
Received for publication October 18, 2002; accepted August 13, 2003
Inai T, Kukita T, Ohsaki Y, Nagata K, Kukita A, Kurisu K (1991) Immunohistochemical demonstration of amelogenin penetration toward the dental pulp in the early stages of ameloblast development in rat molar tooth germs. Anat Rec 229:259270[Medline] Jaspers M, Wu RR, Van der Schueren B, Cassiman JJ (1995) Localization of Kukita A, Harada H, Kukita T, Inai T, Matsuhashi S, Kurisu K (1992) Primary and secondary culture of rat ameloblasts in serum-free medium. Calcif Tissue Int 51:393398[Medline] Laurie GW, Leblond CP, Martin GR (1983) Light microscopic immunolocalization of type IV collagen, laminin, heparan sulfate proteoglycan, and fibronectin in the basement membranes of a variety of rat organs. Am J Anat 167:7182[Medline] Linde A, Johansson S, Jonsson R, Jontell M (1982) Localization of fibronectin during dentinogenesis in rat incisor. Arch Oral Biol 27:10691073[Medline] Lukinmaa PL, Vaahtokari A, Vainio S, Sandberg M, Waltimo J, Thesleff I (1993) Transient expression of type III collagen by odontoblasts: developmental changes in the distribution of pro- MacNeil RL, Berry J, Strayhorn C, Somerman MJ (1996) Expression of bone sialoprotein mRNA by cells lining the mouse tooth root during cementogenesis. Arch Oral Biol 41:827835[Medline] Matsumura T, Tabata MJ, Sakuda M, Kurisu K (1998) Ameloblast-lineage cells of rat tooth germs proliferate and scatter in response to hepatocyte growth factor in culture. Int J Dev Biol 42:11371142[Medline] Ruch JV, Lesot H, BegueKirn C (1995) Odontoblast differentiation. Int J Dev Biol 39:5168[Medline] Salmivirta K, Gullberg D, Hirsch E, Altruda F, Ekblom P (1996) Integrin subunit expression associated with epithelial-mesenchymal interactions during murine tooth development. Dev Dyn 205: 104113[Medline] Salmivirta KL, Sorokin M, Ekblom P (1997) Differential expression of laminin Saotome K, Morita M, Umeda M (1989) Cytotoxicity test with simplified crystal violet staining method using microtitre plates and its application to injection drugs. Toxic In Vitro 3:317321 Sawada T, Nanci A (1995) Spatial distribution of enamel proteins and fibronectin at early stages of rat incisor tooth formation. Arch Oral Biol 40:10291038[Medline] Tabata MJ, Kim K, Liu JG, Yamashita K, Matsumura T, Kato J, Iwamoto M, et al. (1996a) Hepatocyte growth factor is involved in the morphogenesis of tooth germ in murine molars. Development 122:12431251[Abstract] Tabata MJ, Matsumura T, Kurisu K (2000) Primary culture of ameloblasts and exploring for the differentiation markers (in Japanese). Arch Comp Biol Tooth Enamel 7:2332 Tabata MJ, Matsumura T, Liu JG, Wakisaka S, Kurisu K (1996b) Expression of cytokeratin 14 in ameloblasts-lineage cells of developing tooth of rat tooth both in vivo and in vitro. Arch Oral Biol 41:10191027[Medline] Thesleff I, Barrach HJ, Foidart JM, Vaheri A, Pratt RM, Martin GR (1981) Changes in the distribution of type IV collagen, laminin, proteoglycan, and fibronectin during mouse tooth development. Dev Biol 81:182192[Medline] Thesleff I, Partanen AM, Kuusela P, Lehtonen E (1987) Dental papilla cells synthesize but do not deposit fibronectin in culture. J Dent Res 66:11071115 Thesleff I, Partanen AM, Vainio S (1991) Epithelial-mesenchymal interactions in tooth morphogenesis: the roles of extracellular matrix, growth factors, and cell surface receptors. J Craniofac Genet Dev Biol 11:229237[Medline] Thesleff I, Stenman S, Vaheri A, Timpl T (1979) Changes in the matrix proteins, fibronectin and collagen, during differentiation of mouse tooth germ. Dev Biol 70:116126[Medline] Webb PP, Moxham BJ, Ralphs JR, Benjamin M (1998) Immunolocalisation of collagens in the developing rat molar tooth. Eur J Oral Sci 106:147155
This article has been cited by other articles:
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||