The mineralized portions of teeth, the dentin and enamel,
are formed by mesenchyme-derived odontoblasts and
epithelium-derived ameloblasts, respectively. As ameloblasts
differentiate, they deposit specific proteins necessary for enamel
formation, including amelogenin (AMELX; MIM 300391), enamelin
(ENAM; MIM 606585), and ameloblastin (AMBN; MIM 601259), in the
organic enamel matrix. Amelotin is specifically expressed in
maturation-stage ameloblasts (Iwasaki et al., 2005 [PubMed
16304441]).
