This family consists of several mammalian Ameloblastin precursor (Amelin) proteins. Matrix proteins of tooth enamel consist mainly of amelogenin but also of non-amelogenin proteins, which, although their volumetric percentage is low, have an important role in enamel mineralisation. One of the non-amelogenin proteins is ameloblastin, also known as amelin and sheathlin. Ameloblastin (AMBN) is one of the enamel sheath proteins which is though to have a role in determining the prismatic structure of growing enamel crystals.
This family consists of mammalian Ameloblastin precursor (Amelin) proteins. Matrix proteins of tooth enamel consist mainly of amelogenin but also of non-amelogenin proteins, which, although their volumetric percentage is low, have an important role in enamel mineralization. One of the non-amelogenin proteins is ameloblastin, also known as amelin and sheathlin. Ameloblastin (AMBN) is one of the enamel sheath proteins which is thought to have a role in determining the prismatic structure of growing enamel crystals [ (PUBMED:11867231) ].
GO process:
odontogenesis of dentin-containing tooth (GO:0042475)
GO function:
structural constituent of tooth enamel (GO:0030345)
Family alignment:
There are 130 Amelin domains in 130 proteins in SMART's nrdb database.
Click on the following links for more information.
Evolution (species in which this domain is found)
Taxonomic distribution of proteins containing Amelin domain.
This tree includes only several representative species. The complete taxonomic breakdown of all proteins with Amelin domain is also avaliable.
Click on the protein counts, or double click on taxonomic names to display all proteins containing Amelin domain in the selected taxonomic class.
Identification and characterization of ameloblastin gene in a reptile.
Gene. 2002; 283: 245-54
Display abstract
Ameloblastin (AMBN) is one of the enamel sheath proteins which presumably has a role in determining the prismatic structure of growing enamel crystals. There may therefore be a relationship between the molecular evolution of the AMBN gene and the development of enamel prismatic structures. To investigate whether such a relationship exists, it was necessary to identify the homologues of the AMBN gene in a reptile whose teeth lack an enamel prismatic structure. To this end, several clones containing AMBN cDNA were isolated from caiman jaws using the reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) method. Sequence analysis of the AMBN cDNA revealed an open reading frame of 1221 bp encoding a 407-amino-acid protein. Translation of the caiman cDNA starts at the methionine corresponding to the second of two putative start codons conserved in mammalian AMBN genes. The N-terminal part of the caiman AMBN shows high amino acid sequence similarities to human, pig, cattle, rat and mouse AMBN sequences, as well as several other features that have been conserved throughout the evolution of reptiles and mammals. Unexpectedly, the nucleotide sequences of the 3' untranslated region (UTR) are also conserved, not only within mammalian genes but also between reptilian and mammalian genes. The caiman AMBN gene is a single-copy gene, transcribed only in the jaws, presumably in teeth.
Links (links to other resources describing this domain)
