Meeting report: a hard look at the state of enamel research.

The Encouraging Novel Amelogenesis Models and Ex vivo cell Lines (ENAMEL) Development workshop was held on 23 June 2017 at the Bethesda headquarters of the National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research (NIDCR). Discussion topics included model organisms, stem cells/cell lines, and tissues/3D cell culture/organoids. Scientists from a number of disciplines, representing institutions from across the United States, gathered to discuss advances in our understanding of enamel, as well as future directions for the field.

Ameloblastin, an Extracellular Matrix Protein, Affects Long Bone Growth and Mineralization.

Matrix molecules such as the enamel-related calcium-binding phosphoprotein ameloblastin (AMBN) are expressed in multiple tissues, including teeth, bones, and cartilage. Here we have asked whether AMBN is of functional importance for timely long bone development and, if so, how it exerts its function related to osteogenesis. Adolescent AMBN-deficient mice (AMBN(Δ5-6) ) suffered from a 33% to 38% reduction in femur length and an 8.

Case study: polycystic livers in a transgenic mouse line.

Three mice (2 male, 1 female; age, 5 to 16 mo) from a mouse line transgenic for keratin 14 (K14)-driven LacZ expression and on an outbred Crl:CD1(ICR) background, were identified as having distended abdomens and livers that were diffusely enlarged by numerous cysts (diameter, 0.1 to 2.0 cm).