Amelogenesis

PBL Resource Session

11th September 2007
 Amelogenesis

Embryonic component of a tooth germ

 Dental organ

 Dental papilla

 Dental sac (follicle)

 Amelogenesis
 Ameloblasts show different morphological features and
organelle content during different stages of enamel
formation.

 Ameloblasts are assigned to stages that start before

enamel apposition and continue through enamel
formation as well as after enamel is completely formed.
These stages collectively are referred to as lifecycle of
ameloblast
 Life cycle of ameloblast
0 -Morphogenetic
(morphogenic) stage: 1 -Differentiating stage:
 Inner dental epithelium begins
its differentiation first into pre-
ameloblasts.  The inner dental epithelial
cells grow into columnar
 Induce adjacent dental papilla cells with more organelles
cells to differentiate into mostly protein
odontoblasts which form synthesizing organelles.
dentin.

 At this stage the inner dental

 The polarity of the cells is
epithelium consists of cuboidal reversed as the Golgi
cells with centrally located complex shifts from a
nuclei. proximal to distal
position.
2 -Secretory stage:

 1st layer of dentin induce preameloblast to complete differentiation &

secrete enamel.

 Secretory ameloblasts are polarized tall columnar cells with tomes'

processes (conical shaped processes) at their distal ends.
 Tomes' processes interdigitate with the surface of the forming enamel
giving it a picket fence appearance.

 Tomes' processes determine the orientation of the newly formed

(nucleated) enamel hydroxyapatite crystals.

 As the secretory stage is ending Tomes' processes are lost and

accordingly the last formed layers of enamel are prismless.

 Organelle content are mainly protein synthesizing eg.golgi complex,

granular ER
3 -Transitional stage:

 When enamel reaches its full thickness the ameloblasts

enter a brief transitional stage.

 Their height is decreased and protein synthesizing

organelles are drastically reduced.

 Many lysosomes and autophagic vacuoles are also

present.

 The overall number of ameloblasts is reduced by

programmed cell death(apoptosis) and it is estimated
that by the end of this stage the ameloblast population is
reduced by as much as 50%.
4 -Maturation stage:

 During maturation massive influx of calcium and phosphates occurs

and at the same time there is selective loss of enamel proteins,
mainly amelogenin and water.

 The ameloblasts modulate between two phenotypes depending on

the morphology of their distal ends.

 The ameloblasts either have numerous microvilli forming a ruffle-

border or their distal ends are even (straight), thus forming two
morphologically different types, namely Ruffle-ended ameloblasts
(80 % of maturation ameloblasts) and Smooth-ended ameloblasts
(20 %), respectively.
 Ruffle-ended allows incorporation of organic material, smooth
ended permits free passage of protein fragments and water

The two morphological types of ameloblasts are grouped into

alternating bands during this stage, thus maturation ameloblasts
modulate i.e. change their morphology from one type to the other
and back.
5 -Protective stage:

 Ameloblasts lose their differentiation and become short

cuboidal cells which together with the remnants of the other
layers of the dental organ form a multilayered structure,
namely the reduced enamel (dental) epithelium.

 This structure remains on the surface of fully formed enamel

until the tooth erupts.

 It separates the enamel from the dental sac and thus protect
it from being in contact with connective tissue cells in the
dental sac.

 The reduced dental epithelium and the oral epithelium jointly

form the dentogingival junction of the erupting tooth.
 Bell Stage
Morpho-differentiation Functional activity
Morpho-differentiation
 Dental organ deepened -

Histo-differentiation
- Ameloblast acquire their distinctive
phenotype
 Dental organ

Epithelial structure arise from dental lamina

by proliferation at specific sites.
 These layers are:
a. Outer dental epithelium
- single layer of short cuboidal cells that form the outer periphery
of the dental organ

b. Inner dental epithelium

- single layer of tall cuboidal cells that forms the inner periphery
of the dental organ facing the dental papilla. Later in early crown
stage differentiates into tall columnar cells which are the
ameloblast that secretes enamel
c. Stellate reticulum
- group of star shaped cells that form a network inside
the dental organ. The stellate reticulum cells are
separated by large amounts of extracellular products (eg
glycosaminoglycans)

d. Stratum intermedium
- 3-4 layers of flattened epithelial cells betw inner dental
epithelial and stellate reticulum