Canonical BMP signaling is not activated in early tooth development.
A and B, x-gal staining of molar germs from BRE-Gal reporter embryos at E12.5 (A) and E13.5 (B). C–H, immunofluorescence shows expressions of Smad4 (C and D), pSmad1/5/8 (E and F), and pSmad2/3 (G and H) in wild-type tooth germs at E12.5 (C, E, and G) and E13.5 (D, F, and H). B′, D′, F′, and H′, eye tissue at E13.5. Bar = 50 μm. I and J, quantitative RT-PCR shows the relative expression levels of Tgfβ1, Tgfβ2, and Bmp4 at E12.5 (I) and E13.5 (J) tooth germ. Error bars indicate mean ± S.D.