Kuchler, Ulrike, Schwarze, Uwe, Dosak, Toni, Heimel, Patrick, Bosshardt, Dieter, Kneissel, Michaela and Gruber, Reinhard (2014) Dental and periodontal phenotype in sclerostin knockout mice. International Journal of Oral Science, 6 (2). pp. 70-76. ISSN 2049-3169

Abstract

Sclerostin is a Wnt signalling antagonist that controls bone metabolism. Sclerostin is expressed by osteocytes and cementocytes; however, its role in the formation of dental structures remains unclear. Here, we analysed the mandibles of sclerostin knockout mice to determine the influence of sclerostin on dental structures and dimensions using histomorphometry and micro-computed tomography (β 1/4CT) imaging. β 1/4CT and histomorphometric analyses were performed on the first lower molar and its surrounding structures in mice lacking a functional sclerostin gene and in wild-type controls. β 1/4CT on six animals in each group revealed that the dimension of the basal bone as well as the coronal and apical part of alveolar part increased in the sclerostin knockout mice. No significant differences were observed for the tooth and pulp chamber volume. Descriptive histomorphometric analyses of four wild-type and three sclerostin knockout mice demonstrated an increased width of the cementum and a concomitant moderate decrease in the periodontal space width. Taken together, these results suggest that the lack of sclerostin mainly alters the bone and cementum phenotypes rather than producing abnormalities in tooth structures such as dentin. © 2014 WCSS.

Item Type:	Article
Date Deposited:	13 Mar 2018 00:45
Last Modified:	25 Jan 2019 00:46
URI:	https://oak.novartis.com/id/eprint/9104