2009 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

Roles of Odz3 in primary cartilage during mandibular condylar development

Research Project

Project/Area Number	20791565
Research Category	Grant-in-Aid for Young Scientists (B)
Allocation Type	Single-year Grants
Research Field	Orthodontic/Pediatric dentistry
Research Institution	Tohoku University
Principal Investigator	TAKESHITA Nobuo Tohoku University, 大学院・歯学研究科, 助教 (50431515)
Project Period (FY)	2008 – 2009
Keywords	Odz3 / 下顎頭 / 軟骨 / ATDC5
Research Abstract	Mandibular condyle has been speculated to develop by differentiation of fibroblast-like cells covering the condyle to chondrocytes ; however, the developmental mechanisms have not been revealed. We used laser-captured microdissection and cDNA microarray analysis to obtain the genes highly expressed in fibroblast-like cells ; one of these genes was Odz3. The temporal and spatial expression of Odz3 mRNA was revealed in mandibular condylar cartilage during early developmental stage in mice and ATDC5 cells, a mouse chondrogenic cell line. These findings suggest that Odz3 might act as a regulatory factor in the early developmental stage of mandibular condylar cartilage.