Expression of Pit2 sodium-phosphate cotransporter during murine odontogenesis is developmentally regulated

Different sodium‐dependent inorganic phosphate (Pi) uptake mechanisms play a major role in cellular Pi homeostasis. The function and detailed distribution patterns of the type III Na+‐phosphate cotransporter, PiT‐2, in different organs during development are still largely unknown. We therefore examined the temporospatial expression patterns of Pit2 during murine odontogenesis. Odontoblasts were always devoid of Pit2 expression, whereas a transient, but strong, expression was detected in young secretory ameloblasts. However, the stratum intermedium and, later on, the papillary layer and cells of the subodontoblastic layer, exhibited high levels of Pit2 mRNA, which increased gradually as the tooth matured. Hormonal treatment or Pi starvation of tooth germs in vitro did not alter Pit2 levels or patterns of expression, indicating mechanisms of regulation different from those of PiT‐1 or other cell types. PiT‐2 also functions as a retroviral receptor, and functional membrane‐localized protein was confirmed throughout the dental papilla/pulp by demonstrating cellular permissiveness to infection by a gammaretrovirus that uses PiT‐2 as a receptor. The distinct pattern of Pit2 expression during odontogenesis suggests that its Pi‐transporter function may be important for homeostasis of dental cells and not specifically for mineralization of the dental extracellular matrices. The expression of viral receptors in enamel‐forming cells and the dental pulp may be of pathological significance.