Expression of odontogenic ameloblast-associated protein in the dental follicle and its role in osteogenic differentiation of dental follicle stem cells.

Objective: Odontogenic Ameloblast-Associated Protein (ODAM) is encoded by a secretory calcium-binding phosphoprotein cluster gene, which generally plays an important role for mineralization. Dental follicle (DF) is essential in regulating bone formation for tooth eruption. This study aims to reveal ODAM expression in the DFs of developing and erupting molars, and to determine the possible role of ODAM.

Delivery of plasmid DNA into dental tissues of developing rat teeth by electroporation.

Gene transfer by electroporation is a versatile technique that can effectively deliver DNA or RNA into almost all types of cells or tissues. As a widely used nonviral approach, electroporation possesses several advantages over viral methods including non-immunogenicity and local tissue transfection. We have successfully transferred plasmid DNA and siRNA into the dental tissues of rat developing and unerupted molars using electroporation.