Figure 4
Low-temperature preservation arrests the morphogenesis of cultured tooth germs. (a) Schematic representation of an experimental procedure for comparing preservation conditions with different temperatures using an E14.5 tooth germ organ culture. (b) Schematic diagram of the assessment of morphological changes during tooth germ organ culture. The development of cultured tooth germs was scored 0 to 5 according to their morphological changes. Score 0: no apparent change from starting point; score 1: epithelium thickening; score 2: epithelial invagination into the mesenchyme; score 3: multiple cusp formation; score 4: final morphogenesis; score 5: differentiation. (c) Photographic analysis of cultured E14.5 tooth germs in different temperature preservation conditions for 0, 1, 3, 5, 7, and 10 days. Scale bars, 200 µm. (d) Analysis of the developmental score of cultured tooth germs at different temperatures and under different preservation conditions in (c) (n = 20). *p < 0.05. Error bars represent mean ± SD.
