PROTEASE ACTIVITY IN THE MOUSE DENTAL FOLLICLE DURING TOOTH ERUPTION

Eruption results in the movement of the tooth from an intraosseous to a functional position in the mouth. This physiological movement occurs through a path of least resistance and is mediated by the dental foll icle. In this study the presence of a 80-kDa proteinase of the gelatin ase family in the dental follicle of mandibular first molars obtained from CD-1 mouse neonates was investigated by zymography on sodium dode cyl sulphate-gelatin. The results showed a differential distribution o f this proteinase in the coronal and apical parts of the follicle al p ostnatal days 9 and 11. The findings suggest that the onset of this di fferential enzymatic activity is concomitant with the initiation of to oth eruption.