Association between the lack of teeth and the expression of myosins in masticatory muscles of microphthalmic mouse

The purposes of the present study were to elucidate the influences of the deficiency of teeth on masticatory muscles, such as the masseter, temporalis and digastric muscles and compare the influence among masticatory muscles. We analysed the expressions of myosin heavy chain (MyHC) isoform messenger RNA (mRNA) and protein in these muscles in the microphthalmic (mi/mi) mouse, whose teeth cannot erupt because of a mutation in the mitf gene locus. The expression levels of MyHC mRNA and protein in the masseter, temporalis, digastric, tibialis anterior and gastrocnemius muscles of +/+ and mi/mi mice were analysed with real-time polymerase chain reaction and sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis, respectively. The mi/mi masseter muscle at 8 weeks of age expressed 4·1-fold (p < 0·05) and 3.3-fold (p < 0·01) more MyHC neonatal mRNA and protein than that in the +/+, respectively; the expression level of MyHC neonatal protein was 19% of the total MyHC protein in the masseter muscle of mi/mi mice. In the digastric muscle, the expression levels of MyHC I mRNA and protein in the mi/mi mice were 4·7-fold (p < 0·05) and 5-fold (p < 0·01) higher than those in the +/+ mice. In the temporalis, tibialis anterior and gastrocnemius muscles, there was no significant difference in the expression levels of any MyHC isoform mRNA and protein between +/+ and mi/mi mice. These results indicate associations between the lack of teeth and the expression of MyHC in the masseter and digastric muscles but not such associations in the temporalis muscle, suggesting that the influence of tooth deficiency varies among the masticatory muscles. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.