Dentin Sialophosphoprotein Expression Profile in Developing Human Primary Teeth: An Experimental Study.

STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM: Tooth development is initiated by localized thickenings of the primary epithelial bands. Dentin sialophosphoprotein (DSPP) is the most abundant non-collagenous protein in the dentin matrix. DSPP's expression extends to multiple tissues, including dentin, cementum, and bone. However, the role of DSPP is not yet clear in the development of human tooth. PURPOSE: The current study aimed to examine the DSPP expression profile during the development of human primary tooth structures with a sufficiently large sample size. MATERIALS AND METHOD: In this experimental study, a total of 33 samples of aborted human fetuses were divided into three age groups <16 weeks, <19 weeks and ≥19 weeks. Immunohistochemistry (IHC) was performed with Anti-DSPP rabbit polyclonal antibody. A two-way ANOVA analysis was conducted to examine the differences between the groups (p< 0.05). RESULTS: An increase in DSPP expression was observed with the progression of gestational weeks in different histological structures of developing human primary teeth. CONCLUSION: An increase in the expression level of DSPP with the progression of gestational weeks may confirm that reciprocal interactions between the enamel organ (EO) and dental pulp cells contribute to tooth formation.