Dental enamel formation is coordinated by ameloblast differentiation, production of enamel matrix proteins, and crystal growth. The factors regulating ameloblast differentiation are not fully understood. Here we show that the high mobility group N (HMGN) nucleosomal binding proteins modulate the rate of ameloblast differentiation and enamel formation. We found that HMGN1 and HMGN2 proteins are downregulated during mouse ameloblast differentiation. Genetically altered mice lacking HMGN1 and HMGN2 proteins show faster ameloblast differentiation and a higher rate of enamel deposition in mice molars and incisors. In vitro differentiation of induced pluripotent stem cells to dental epithelium cells showed that HMGN proteins modulate the expression and chromatin accessibility of ameloblast-specific genes and affect the binding of transcription factors epiprofin and PITX2 to ameloblast-specific genes. Our results suggest that HMGN proteins regulate ameloblast differentiation and enamel mineralization by modulating lineage-specific chromatin accessibility and transcription factor binding to ameloblast regulatory sites.
Keywords: amelogenin; developmental biology; enamel biomineralization/formation; genomics; molecular biology; transcription factor(s).