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 follicle. In this study the presence of a 80-kDa proteinase of the gelatinase family in the dental follicle of mandibular first molars obtained from CD-1 mouse neonates was investigated by zymography on sodium dodecyl sulphate-gelatin. The results showed a differential distribution of this proteinase in the coronal and apical parts of the follicle at postnatal days 9 and 11. The findings suggest that the onset of this differential enzymatic activity is concomitant with the initiation of tooth eruption.