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Calcium ions promote osteogenic differentiation and mineralization of human dental pulp cells: implications for pulp capping materials

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Abstract

Calcium (Ca) is the main element of most pulp capping materials and plays an essential role in mineralization. Different pulp capping materials can release various concentrations of Ca ions leading to different clinical outcomes. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of various concentrations of Ca ions on the growth and osteogenic differentiation of human dental pulp cells (hDPCs). Different concentrations of Ca ions were added to growth culture medium and osteogenic inductive culture medium. A Cell Counting Kit-8 was used to determine the proliferation of hDPCs in growth culture medium. Osteogenic differentiation and mineralization were measured by alkaline phosphatase (ALP) assay, Alizarin red S/von kossa staining, Ca content quantitative assay. The selected osteogenic differentiation markers were investigated by quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR). Within the range of 1.8–16.2 mM, increased concentrations of Ca ions had no effect on cell proliferation, but led to changes in osteogenic differentiation. It was noted that enhanced mineralized matrix nodule formation was found in higher Ca ions concentrations; however, ALP activity and gene expression were reduced. qRT-PCR results showed a trend towards down-regulated mRNA expression of type I collagen and Runx2 at elevated concentrations of Ca ions, whereas osteopontin and osteocalcin mRNA expression were significantly up-regulated. Ca ions content in the culture media can significantly influence the osteogenic properties of hDPCs, indicating the importance of optimizing Ca ions release from dental pulp capping materials in order to achieve desirable clinical outcomes.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Operative Dentistry and Endodontics, Guanghua School of Stomatology, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, 510055, People’s Republic of China

    Shaofeng An, Yan Gao, Junqi Ling & Xi Wei

  2. Institute of Health and Biomedical Innovation, Queensland University of Technology, 60 Musk Ave., Kelvin Grove Campus, Brisbane, QLD, 4059, Australia

    Yin Xiao

Authors
  1. Shaofeng An
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  2. Yan Gao
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  3. Junqi Ling
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  4. Xi Wei
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  5. Yin Xiao
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Corresponding authors

Correspondence to Junqi Ling or Yin Xiao.

Additional information

Shaofeng An and Yan Gao are contributed equally to this study.

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An, S., Gao, Y., Ling, J. et al. Calcium ions promote osteogenic differentiation and mineralization of human dental pulp cells: implications for pulp capping materials. J Mater Sci: Mater Med 23, 789–795 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10856-011-4531-0

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10856-011-4531-0

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