Abstract: Objective To investigate the expression of ADAM10 during craniomaxillofacial ossification of mice. Methods Alcian blue and Alizarin red staining were used to detect the intramembranous ossification areas during craniomaxillofacial development of wild-type C57BL/6 mice. Expression of ADAM10 in mice craniomaxillofacial bone was analyzed by immunohistochemistry. The subcellular localization of ADAM10 in MC3T3 was observed by double immunofluorescent staining and the expression of ADAM10 in mice mandibular was determined by western blot. Results Skull, nasal cartilage, maxilla, palate plate and mandibular of mice displayed intramembranous ossification and expression of ADAM10 showed strong singal in these regions, especially the regions undergoing intramembranous ossification. In MC3T3, ADAM10 distributed in cytoplasm, especially in cell membrance and cell nucleus, and the high expression signal of ADAM10 near cell nucleus was co-localized with GM130, a marker of Golgi, indicating ADAM10 decorated in Golgi before transported to the cell membrance. The expression of ADAM10 in mice mandibular was significantly down-regulated when grown up. Conclusion ADAM10 is widely expressed in mice intramembranous ossification regions, providing the evidence of its regulation in intramembranous ossification of mice.

Key words: Intramembranous ossification, A disintegrin and metalloprotease 10, Craniomaxillofacial development