Enamel matrix proteins exhibit growth factor activity: A review of evidence at the cellular and molecular levels

Abstract

Enamel matrix derivative (EMD) is a commercially available protein extract, mainly comprising amelogenins. A number of other polypeptides have been identified in EMD, mostly growth factors, which promote cementogenesis and osteogenesis during the regeneration processes through the regulation of cell proliferation, differentiation and activity; however, not all of their functions are clear. Enamel extracts have been proposed to have numerous activities such as bone morphogenetic protein- and transforming growth factor β (TGF-β)-like activity, and activities similar to those of insulin-like growth factor, fibroblast growth factor, platelet-derived growth factor, vascular endothelial growth factor and epidermal growth factor. These activities have been observed at the molecular and cellular levels and in numerous animal models. Furthermore, it has been suggested that EMD contains an unidentified biologically active factor that acts in combination with TGF-β1, and several studies have reported functional similarities between growth factors and TGF-β in cellular processes. The effects of enamel extracts on the cell cycle and biology are summarized and discussed in this review.

Mesoporous Hydroxyapatite/Chitosan Loaded With Recombinant-Human Amelogenin Could Enhance Antibacterial Effect and Promote Periodontal Regeneration

“…Enamel matrix proteins (EMPs) have been widely used in periodontal regeneration and have demonstrated the capacity for promoting wound healing, restricting epithelial downgrowth, and supporting the regeneration of a complete periodontal attachment apparatus (Bosshardt et al, 2015;Talebi Ardakani et al, 2019). Amelogenin is the main composition of enamel matrix proteins (Wyganowska-Swiatkowska et al, 2015). The recombinant human amelogenin (rhAm) used in our study was purified from prokaryotic expression system.…”

Collagen Membranes Adsorb the Transforming Growth Factor‐β Receptor I Kinase‐Dependent Activity of Enamel Matrix Derivative

“…Further evidence that EMD provokes TGF‐β‐ related responses comes from TGF‐β‐neutralizing antibodies that substantially reduced the impact of EMD on: 1) cell signaling, 24 2) connective tissue growth factor expression, 25 and 3) proliferation 26 . There is, therefore, accumulating evidence for TGF‐β‐like activity in EMD, as recently summarized 27 . Under the premise that TGF‐β adsorbs to collagen, 19 it is reasonable to suggest that the TGF‐β‐like activity of EMD can adsorb to collagen products.…”

Positive Effects of Three-Dimensional Collagen-Based Matrices on the Behavior of Osteoprogenitors

“…It is well known that collagen itself has a limited ability to induce apatite formation. Therefore, we investigated the possibility to use bioactive substances such as EMD, known to exhibit growth factor activities ( Wyganowska-Świątkowska et al, 2015 ), or the highly osteogenic BMP-2 ( Wozney et al, 1988 ) for biofunctionalization of the investigated biomaterials.…”