Specialized Cells in the Inner Dental Epithelium

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Abstract
A slender type of cell observed in the inner dental epithelium of developing rat molars, and apparently originating from the stratum-intermedium, showed marked alkaline phosphatase activity. They were found singly and in small groups at irregular intervals. First visualized during differentiation of odontoblasts, they were no longer seen after beginning of amelogenesis. Areas of interrod substance consistently observed in the developing enamel are suggestive of residual protoplasm of the original slender cells. These cells may stimulate cell differentiation (odontoblasts), and act as pathways for diffusion of nutrients to the forming enamel matrix (interrod substance).