Proteoglycans of dentine and predentine

Molecular pathogenesis of root dentin caries

Human dentin has a higher content of organic matrix and more non-ideal hydroxyapatite than human enamel. Ultrastructural studies indicate that root caries involves both mineral dissolution and breakdown of the organic matrix. Factors involved in the root caries process seem more complicated than those in enamel caries. Moreover, the distinct roles of acids and enzymes and the sequence of events in the root caries process are not well-understood. Although Streptococcus mutans and Actinomyces viscosus are considered to be major pathogenic micro-organisms of root caries, their roles in degradation of the organic matrix components of root dentin need clarification. The purpose of this paper is to review the basic composition of root dentin and the roles of acids and both endogenous and bacterial enzymes in the root caries process.

Quantitative immunohistochemical evidence of a functional gradient of chondroitin 4-sulphate/dermatan sulphate, developmentally regulated in the predentine of rat incisor

A quantitative examination was carried out on the early and mature stages of dentinogenesis in the rat incisor, using a post-embedding immunogold labelling with an anti-chondroitin 4 sulphate/dermatan sulphate antibody (2B6). At a very early stage of predentine formation, before polarizing odontoblasts have established junctional complexes, immunolabelling was weak. In contrast, when polarized odontoblasts established distal junctional complexes, immunolabelling in predentine was uniform and threefold denser than in initial predentine. The same gold particle density was found in the non-mineralized mantle dentine. During circumpulpal dentine formation, a gradient was seen in predentine, a larger number of gold particles being scored in the proximal zone compared with the distal region adjacent to the mineralization front. In circumpulpal dentine, some labelling was found within the lumen of the tubules and in the bordering dentine around the tubules. A few particles were also detected in intertubular matrix after demineralization. Together, these data provide evidence for a developmentally regulated gradient during the transition between mantle and circumpulpal dentine, and also in a more mature part of the tooth, a functional gradient that probably plays a role in the process of mineralization.

Action of metalloproteinases on porcine dentin mineralization

Samples containing predentin and mineralized dentin involving the mineralized front (newly formed dentin) were prepared by scraping developing porcine teeth after odontoblastic cell debris had been removed from the predentin surfaces. An extract was obtained separately from the matrices of predentin and of the newly formed dentin with a 4 M guanidine solution before and after demineralization with acetic acid solution. Enzymography detected 56 and 61 kDa gelatinases and 25 kDa proteoglycanase as neutral metalloproteinases in both extracts and proved them to be in an active form. Approximately half of the 56 and 61 kDa gelatinases binds to collagen fibers in predentin matrix. Three high molecular weight proteoglycans (70-85 kDa, 130-180 kDa, and 290 kDa) were found in the predentin matrix, but not in the newly formed dentin. The proteoglycanases in predentin degraded 290 kDa proteoglycan, if incubated together with calcium (Ca) ions. The results of this investigation indicate that active proteoglycanases which existed in the predentin perform no substantial work in proteoglycan degradation because the Ca ions are masked in the predentin matrix by coexisting proteoglycans. When mineralization occurs, however, they can degrade the proteoglycan at the mineralization front because excess Ca ions may be supplied via odontoblastic processes.

The role of proteoglycans in hard and soft tissue repair

Healing of soft and hard tissues results from a progression of events initiated by injury and directed toward reestablishing normal structure and function. The ubiquity of proteoglycans in mammalian tissues virtually guarantees their involvement in tissue restitution. The dramatic advances in cellular and molecular biology in recent years have added significantly to understanding the specific roles played by proteoglycans in wound repair processes.

In vivo and in vitro glycosaminoglycans from human dental pulp

A qualitative assessment was made of the type of glycosaminoglycans (GAG) present in normal human dental pulp using electrophoresis on cellulose-acetate plates. A comparison was also made between the GAG derived directly from the dental pulp (in vivo) and those derived from cultured pulp fibroblasts from the same individual (in vitro). The results of this study showed four main types of GAG in normal human dental pulp tissue, which were dermatan sulfate, heparan sulfate, hyaluronic acid, and chondroitin sulfate. GAG synthesis from cultured pulp fibroblasts in vitro was different from the GAG present in the dental pulp (in vivo). Extracellular GAG, as well as pericellular GAG consisted of dermatan sulfate, hyaluronic acid, chondroitin sulfate, and heparin. Cellular GAG, however, contained only dermatan sulfate, hyaluronic acid, and chondroitin sulfate. There was no difference in type of GAG from the second and fourth passaged pulp fibroblasts.

Metalloproteinases in the mineralized compartments of porcine dentine as detected by substrate-gel electrophoresis

Several gelatinolytic activities were detected in the 4M guanidine HCl-soluble fraction extracted from demineralized porcine dentine matrix. These matrix proteinases were active in the range of pH 6-9, and the activities were enhanced by calcium ions. The enzymes also degraded some of the non-collagenous proteins coexisting in the extract. The results indicate that the changes in the composition of non-collagenous proteins during the development of dentine are related to proteolytic enzyme activity.

X-ray microanalysis of teeth from healthy patients and patients with familial hypophosphatemia

Energy-dispersive X-ray microanalysis was used to determine calcium/phosphorous (Ca/P) ratios in undecalcified teeth, and the sulfur (S) content of dentin of decalcified teeth from normal patients and patients with familial hypophosphatemia, in an attempt to determine the effect of phosphorus deficiency. The results showed that normal enamel has a slightly elevated Ca/P ratio compared to pure apatite. Enamel from a tooth of an untreated patient with hypophosphatemia exhibited a significantly higher Ca/P ratio than the normal teeth whereas enamel from teeth of an intermittently treated patient exhibited Ca/P ratios similar to pure apatite. Surprisingly, globular dentin in the same teeth showed a Ca/P ratio similar to that of globular dentin of the untreated tooth. The decalcified dentin from teeth of three hypophosphatemic patients and eight normal patients showed a S peak which varied widely in concentration. No detectable differences could be found between normal and diseased teeth.

Visualization of glycosaminoglycans in rat incisor extracellular matrix using a hyaluronidase-gold complex

The enzyme-gold technique was used on dental tissues. Hyaluronidase was complexed with gold, and ultrathin sections of rat incisors were incubated with the hyaluronidase-gold complex to localize chondroitin-sulphate and hyaluronic acid at the ultrastructural level. The hyaluronidase-gold complex was found in predentine and dentine, especially at the mineralization front, in interglobular spaces and around dentinal canaliculi. The very young enamel was labelled, but not the later stages of formation. This method allowed a very precise localization of hyaluronic acid and/or chondroitin sulphate in rat incisors extracellular matrices. These findings support the important role of glycosaminoglycans in dentine mineralization.

Changes in levels of osteonectin in bovine dentine during tooth development

Bovine incisors were classified into three developmental stages and non-collagenous proteins extracted from them. Sodium dodecyl sulphate gel electrophoresis of the extracts showed a reduction in osteonectin with the various stages. The reduction was confirmed by enzyme immunoassay using antiserum against bone osteonectin. This change is in contrast to dentine phosphoprotein, indicating functional differences between these two proteins.

Aspiration and characterization of predentin fluid in developing rat teeth by means of a micropuncture and micro-analytical technique

A fluid phase was aspirated in vivo and in vitro from predentin or pulp of developing rat teeth by means of a micropuncture technique. Pooled aspirates (approx. 2 nL) were analyzed for P, Na, K, Ca, Mg, and S by electron probe microtechniques (Lechene and Warner, 1979). Compared with pulp fluid, currently and previously studied cartilage fluids, as well as serum, predentin fluid showed elevated K, depressed Na, Cl, and Ca, as well as increased P. Statistical analysis was possible for only a few groups of comparisons among the elemental profiles. Ultrastructural examination of the aspiration site and of the aspirates showed no evidence of contamination with cell organelles or other formed elements. The micropuncture technique used was a critically precise and laborious procedure; possible contamination with intracellular fluid could not be avoided. The consistently low Mg concentration found in the aspirates, however, supports our view that the samples were primarily extracellular.

Light-microscopic studies on spatial and temporal binding of the lectins concanavalin A, wheat-germ agglutinin and peanut agglutinin in early rat odontogenesis

The spatial distribution and temporal expression of alpha-D-mannosyl(glucosyl)-, N-acetyl-D-glucosaminyl- and beta-D-galactosyl residues as detected by peroxidase-conjugated lectins correlated with early odontogenic events in six principal developmental stages (fetal days 13.5, 14, 15, 17, 18.5 and 19.5). The odontogenic epithelium of 13.5- and 14-day-old fetuses was characterized by strong concanavalin A (Con A) binding and between days 17 and 19.5, the stellate reticulum displayed strong peanut agglutinin (PNA) binding. Between 15 and 19.5, differentiation of dental ectomesenchyme was characterized by a rhythmic expression of terminal galactosyl residues shown by PNA-binding. At the developing dental basement membrane, there were various carbohydrate-specific regions. At days 13.5 and 14, the odontogenic basement membrane was specific for N-acetyl-D-glucosamines detected by wheat-germ agglutinin (WGA). The results suggest that the carbohydrates present at the inner dental basement membrane at days 17 to 19.5 may be involved in cell-matrix interactions during cytodifferentiation.

Visualization of proteoglycans and membrane-associated components in rat incisor predentine and dentine using ruthenium hexammine trichloride

Ruthenium hexammine trichloride (RHT) used as a probe to visualize anion groups in the predentine and dentine of rat incisors, showed a complex distribution pattern including: intercellular proteoglycans (Pg), detected in the predentine as granules 10-15 nm in diameter and as filaments. Non-aggregating Pg was observed in the spaces between collagen fibres as an amorphous group substance. The dentine included smaller RHT-positive granules, observed after thin-section demineralization; pericellular aggregates, 30-50 nm in diameter, which were absent at the onset of the cell coat along the plasma-membrane of the odontoblast process and of the membrane itself. All these RHT-positive components might be Pg and/or sialoglyconjugates and glyco- or phospholipids present on the plasma membrane.

Incorporation of (35S)sulfate and (3H)glucosamine into glycoaminoglycans in rat incisor predentine and dentine: comparison by autoradiography of fixation by rapid-freezing, freeze-substitution, and aldehyde fixation

At 4 and 24 hours after injection of (35S)sulfate, there were 22-67% fewer silver grains on conventionally fixed sections than on sections fixed by cryotechniques. Differences were smaller when (3H) glucosamine was chosen as precursor. The number of silver grains increased between 4 and 24 hours in predentine and in a 30-micron band of dentine that had already undergone mineralization. Only a few grains were observed, however, in the 5-micron dentine band located at the mineralization front. This suggests that glycoaminoglycans, which in predentine have a space-filling role, facilitate transport and diffusion and inhibit mineralization, may limit crystal growth in dentine once a certain degree of apatite formation has been reached. All these properties are correlated with the structural and functional properties of the tissues.

The extracellular matrix of the dental pulp and dentin

The dental pulp is a loose connective tissue, characterized by its specific anatomical location. Its extracellular components are obvious subjects for study, since such components are largely responsible for the physiological properties of the tissue. Several clinically important processes occur extracellularly, e.g., defense mechanisms such as inflammatory reactions and formation of calcified tissue. The dental mesenchyme has a crucial role during early tooth morphogenesis. The dental pulp, or rather the dental papilla, seems to have only an indirect role during dentinogenesis. This review discusses proteoglycans and glycosaminoglycans, fibronectin and other non-collagenous proteins, and the different types of collagen that have been studied in pulp connective tissue. With regard to its biochemical constituents, the pulp is similar to other loose connective tissues. Collagen type I is the major fibrous component, but collagen type III also constitutes a large portion. Fibronectin is present, as is a high content of proteoglycan. In the proteoglycans, all normally occurring connective tissue glycosaminoglycans can be demonstrated. The composition of the pulpal extracellular matrix during tooth development is quite different from that of the mature tooth. Thus, it is important not to draw any too-far-reaching conclusions about the situation in human pulp from results obtained by studying pulp from animal teeth with ongoing dentinogenesis. In spite of their common ancestry, pulp and dentin differ considerably in extracellular matrix composition. Proteoglycans and collagen type I are present in dentin. No type III collagen or fibronectin can be found in the dentin, although it is present in the dental pulp.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

The appearance in TEM of proteoglycan predentine is fixation dependant

The appearance of proteoglycans visualized on thin sections with alcian blue was compared in rat incisor predentine fixed either in aqueous aldehyde solutions or by anhydrous methods (acrolein vapours or rapid freezing-freeze substitution). The granular or branched chain-like structures detected after aqueous fixation probably resulted from precipitation or shrinkage of an expanded amorphous gel observed only after anhydrous fixation. In predentine, morphological interactions between proteoglycans and collagen fibres may be also artefactual.

Isolation and partial characterization of proteoglycans from rat incisors

Newly synthesized proteoglycans of rat incisors were labelled in vivo for 6h with [35S]-sulphate in order to facilitate their detection during purification and characterization. Proteoglycans were extracted from non-mineralized portions (predentine) of rat incisors with 4M-guanidinium chloride and subsequently from dentine by demineralization with a 0.4M-EDTA solution containing 4M-guanidinium chloride. Both extractions were performed at 4 degrees C in the presence of proteinase inhibitors. Purification of proteoglycans was achieved with a procedure involving gel-filtration chromatography, selective precipitation of phosphoproteins, affinity chromatography and ion-exchange chromatography. Two proteoglycan populations were found in the initial extract (Pd-PG I and Pd-PG II), whereas only one fraction (D-PG) was obtained after demineralization. The minor proteoglycan fraction from the first extract, Pd-PG I, although not totally characterized, differed sharply from the other proteoglycans in that it had a larger molecular size with larger glycosaminoglycan chains composed of chondroitin 4- and 6-sulphate isomers. In contrast, the major proteoglycans Pd-PG II and D-PG had smaller hydrodynamic sizes with smaller glycosaminoglycan chains (but larger than those from bovine nasal cartilage proteoglycans) composed exclusively of chondroitin 4-sulphate. The major proteoglycans were incapable of interacting with hyaluronic acid. In general, the amino acid compositions of the major proteoglycans of rat incisors resembled that of bovine nasal cartilage proteoglycans, but the former had lower proline, valine, isoleucine, leucine, and higher aspartic acid, contents.

Effect of dissociative extraction with 1.5 M calcium chloride on proteoglycans in rat-incisor predentine visualized with cuprolinic blue

Treatment of rat-incisor predentine for 48 h in a 1.5 M CaCl2 solution halved the number and size of the proteoglycan precipitates visualized using a critical MgCl2 concentration and cuprolinic blue staining. About 75 per cent of the aggregable proteoglycans were extracted; 25 per cent resisted extraction. Treatment with CaCl2 also completely abolished the electron density of the amorphous ground substance, an observation consistent with the possible existence of two classes of proteoglycans in predentine.

Proteolytic activity of rabbit incisor dentine

The presence of proteolytic activity and plasminogen activator was demonstrated in extracts of the dentine from serial sections from all regions of the incisor. Maximal activity was at neutral pH, although some was also present at acidic pH. Preparations of dentine non-collagenous matrix (NCM) proteins were sensitive to the proteolytic activity; NCM prepared by EDTA extraction contained such activity.

Non-collagenous proteins of predentine from dentinogenically active bovine teeth

Predentin(e) was dissected out from unerupted permanent bovine teeth. The non-collagenous proteins were extracted at -13 degrees C by 4 M-guanidinium chloride containing proteinase inhibitors and separated by DEAE-Sepharose and Sephadex G-100 chromatography. In addition to a few minor constituents, the only major non-collagenous components that could be demonstrated were albumin and proteoglycan. The localization of the former, demonstrated by optical-microscopical immunochemistry, was such that it was concluded that albumin is not a constituent of predentin matrix. Very low amounts of phosphoprotein were found in predentin matrix. This was of two types, high- and low-phosphorylated. Larger amounts of phosphoprotein were not present until the dissection was carried deeper into newly formed dentin(e). On the basis of the present results and previously obtained morphological data the conclusion was drawn that predentin matrix, containing virtually only collagen type I and proteoglycan, is similar in composition to that of loose connective tissue and primarily aimed at the production and maturation of collagen fibres. Only immediately before the mineralization front are the non-collagenous protein components secreted that initiate and govern calcium-phosphate mineral formation.

Analysis of dentine glycosaminoglycans using high-performance liquid chromatography

Puppy dentine was prepared using ultracentrifugation of tooth powder in organic density gradients. The glycosaminoglycans of the obtained tissue fraction were prepared after papain digestion and beta-elimination, using preparative chromatography on DEAE-cellulose and CPC-cellulose. These polysaccharide fractions were analyzed using highly sensitive HPLC procedures. One such HPLC procedure allowed hyaluronic acid to be determined in less than microgram amounts. The glycosaminoglycans thus prepared consisted only of chondroitin-4-sulfate, chondroitin-6-sulfate, and small amounts of highly hybridized dermatan sulfate, while the experiments failed to demonstrate even trace amounts of keratan sulfate, hyaluronic acid or heparan sulfate.

Electron microscopic visualization of proteoglycans in rat incisor predentine and dentine with cuprolinic blue

Cuprolinic blue in a MgCl2-critical electrolyte concentration solution allows a larger surface representation of proteoglycans than other methods. Glycoaminoglycans in predentine were ribbon-like structures 14 nm thick and 60 nm long, with radiating filaments (3-4 nm) located in spaces between collagen fibres. Glycoaminoglycans and collagen together displayed longitudinal and orthogonal relationships. The ground substance was slightly electron dense. In dentine, the precipitate was less in quantity and consisted of rounded granules (15 nm in diameter, and filaments/3 nm in width) closely associated with the surfaces of collagen fibres.

Diazo-oxo-norleucine (DON)-induced alterations in the extracellular matrix of the mouse tooth germ

In a previous study we have shown that the glutamine analogue diazo-oxo-norleucine (DON) inhibits the differentiation of mesenchymal cells into odontoblasts in the developing tooth. In the present study we have studied the effect of DON on the formation of the extracellular matrix by using light microscopic autoradiography and transmission electron microscopy. The inhibition of odontoblast differentiation was accompanied by alterations in the extracellular matrix at the epithelio-mesenchymal interface. The interface was reduced in space and filled with filamentous material, and the organization of collagen fibers in more advanced tooth germs was disturbed. DON also reduced the incorporation of [35S]sulphate into the basement membrane region, whereas no marked change was observed in the incorporation of [3H]fucose. These results suggest that DON affected the cell--matrix interaction which is believed to control the differentiation of odontoblast.

Localization of fibronectin during dentinogenesis in rat incisor

Fibronectin (FN) was localized in the dental pulp and predentine at different stages of dentinogenesis by indirect immunofluorescence. Fibronectin was present in the basement membrane between the inner enamel epithelium and the underlying dental mesenchyme and also in mantle predentine. Fibronectin was absent from predentine during further (circumpulpal) dentine formation, indicating that the FN molecule is not directly involved in mineralization. The findings emphasize the difference between the mantle and circumpulpal dentine formation. Fibronectin was localized in the odontoblast layer at the level where the cell processes leave the cell bodies and where the odontoblasts adhere to each other by junctional complexes.

Synthesis of collagen type I, type I trimer and type III by embryonic mouse dental epithelial and mesenchymal cells in vitro

Epithelial and mesenchymal dental cells were grown in primary monolayer culture and the ability of both cell types to synthesize interstitial collagens was investigated. Pepsin-solubilized collagens were analyzed by CM-cellulose chromatography and both cell types were found to synthesize collagen type I, type III and type I trimer. The collagen phenotype of mesenchymal cells (type I: 82.4%, type III: 8.5%, type I trimer: 9.1%) was different from that of epithelial cells (type I: 71.8%, type III: 9.5%, type I trimer: 18.7%). The radioactivity incorporated into collagen molecules by mesenchymal cells was 34-times greater than the radioactivity incorporated by epithelial cells. This result agreed with previous observations obtained from tissue culture experiments (Lesot, H. and Ruch, J.V. (1979) Biol. Cell. 34, 23--37) which indicated a low synthesis of interstitial collagens by isolated dental epithelia when compared to isolated dental mesenchymes.

The influence of fluoride administration on the structure of proteoglycans in the developing rat incisor

1. 35S-labelled chondroitin 4-sulphate proteoglycan was isolated from the mineralized elements of the developing incisor teeth of Harvard rats receiving intraperitoneal administration of Na235SO4. 2. The chondroitin 4-sulphate proteoglycan underwent a decrease in molecular size in fluorotic teeth as judged by gel filtration on Sepharose 2B. 3. When examined by anion-exchange chromatography on DEAE cellulose-52, the proteoglycan from fluorotic teeth resolved into four peaks in comparison with the material from non-fluorotic teeth, which exhibited only a single major peak. 4. Both the single peak from non-fluoridated teeth and the four peaks from the fluorotic teeth were further resolved on cellulose acetate electrophoresis. 5. Isolated chondroitin 4-sulphate chains obtained from fluorotic teeth also were of smaller molecular size as judged by gel filtration on Sephadex G-150. 6. Some possible influences of fluoride on the metabolism of these connective-tissue components in the developing rat incisor are discussed.

Cathepsin D: ultra-immunohistochemical localization in dentinogenesis

Cathepsin D was purified from rat liver using a new affinity chromatographic method, based on the coupling to the specific inhibitor pepstatin. This preparation was used for the production of specific antibodies from rabbit. The purified IgG fraction was conjugated to horseradish peroxidase in a two-step coupling procedure and used for electron microscopic immunohistochemistry of the odontoblast-predentine region of the rat incisor. Precipitates, indicating the presence of cathepsin D, were seen in the odontoblast, odontoblast process, and in the extracellular unmineralized matrix, the predentine. The observations are discussed in relation to proteoglycan degradation at the mineralization front simultaneous with crystal formation, and in relation to the function of lysosomal enzymes in the turnover of connective tissue.