Peroxisomes in dental tissues of the mouse.

Patients with mild forms of peroxisomal biogenesis disorders show facial dysmorphism and exhibit dentition problems accompanied by enamel hypoplasia. However, no information is available on the role of peroxisomes in dental and paradontal tissues. Therefore, we studied the distribution of these organelles, their protein composition and the expression of corresponding genes during dental development and in mature decalcified teeth in mice.

The biogenesis protein PEX14 is an optimal marker for the identification and localization of peroxisomes in different cell types, tissues, and species in morphological studies.

Catalase and ABCD3 are frequently used as markers for the localization of peroxisomes in morphological experiments. Their abundance, however, is highly dependent on metabolic demands, reducing the validity of analyses of peroxisomal abundance and distribution based solely on these proteins. We therefore attempted to find a protein which can be used as an optimal marker for peroxisomes in a variety of species, tissues, cell types and also experimental designs, independently of peroxisomal metabolism.