PubMed · 3078487
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G Fiorentino. 1988. [Amelogenesis imperfecta].. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/3078487/
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The amelogenin proteins regulate enamel mineral formation in the developing tooth. The human AMELX gene, which encodes the amelogenin proteins, is located within an intron of the Arhgap 6 gene. ARHGAP 6 encodes a Rho GAP, which regulates activity of Rho A, a small G protein involved in intracellular signal transduction. Mice were generated in which the entire ARHGAP 6 gene was deleted by Cre-mediated recombination, which also removed the nested Amel X gene. Enamel from these mice appeared chalky white, and the molars showed excessive wear. The enamel layer was hypoplastic and non-prismatic, whereas other dental tissues had normal morphology. This phenotype is similar to that reported for Amel X null mice, which have a short deletion that removed the region surrounding the translation initiation site, and resembles some forms of X-linked amelogenesis imperfecta in humans. Analysis of the enamel from the Arhgap 6/Amel X-deleted mice verifies that the Amel X gene is nested within the murine Arhgap 6 gene and shows that removal of the entire Amel X gene leads to a phenotype similar to the earlier Amel X null mouse results, in which no amelogenin protein was detected. However, an unusual layer of aprismatic enamel covers the enamel surface, which may be related to the 1.1-Mb deletion, which included Arhgap 6 in these mice.
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The teeth of the Homo erectus child (Garba IV) recovered from Melka Kunture Ethiopia and dated to 1.5 Ma are characterized by generalized enamel dysplasia, reduced enamel radio-opacity, and severe attrition. This combination of features is found in a large group of hereditary, generalized enamel dysplasias known as amelogenesis imperfecta (AI). SEM studies carried out on epoxy replicas of teeth from the Garba IV child, confirmed that the defects noted were developmental and not due to diagenesis. The enamel prism arrangement is abnormal and there are deep vertical furrows lacking enamel on both buccal and lingual surfaces of all molars. The lesions differ from those characteristic of linear enamel hypoplasia that form discrete horizontal lesions or pits within otherwise normal enamel. We propose that the Garba IV child is the earliest example of AI and provides a link between palaeoanthropology and molecular biology in investigations of the evolutionary history of genetic disorders.