P63 co-opts the skin Krt8-to-Krt5 transition for enamel organ development.

ABSTRACT: Tooth enamel, the hardest vertebrate tissue, is crucial for mastication and dental protection. Its formation depends on the enamel organ (EO), a specialized epithelial structure derived from oral epithelium. How uniform oral epithelium differentiates into diverse EO cell types remains unclear. While p63, an ectodermal development master regulator, is essential for dental placode formation, its specific roles in EO development have been obscured by early arrest in p63 knockout mice. Using single-cell RNA sequencing from mouse incisors, we show p63 expression across all EO cell types with both shared and distinct functions. Through trajectory reconstruction, we identify p63's role in regulating both amelogenic (AmG) and non-AmG lineage commitment during EO development. C

SUBMITTER: Tang Q 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC11844444 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Apr

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature