Paula-Silva FWG, Ghosh A, Silva LAB, Kapila YL. TNF-alpha promotes an odontoblastic phenotype in dental pulp cells.
J Dent Res 2009;
88:339-44. [PMID:
19407154 DOI:
10.1177/0022034509334070]
[Citation(s) in RCA: 123] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/09/2023] Open
Abstract
Dental pulp cells can differentiate toward an odontoblastic phenotype to produce reparative dentin beneath caries lesions. However, the mechanisms involved in pulp cell differentiation under pro-inflammatory stimuli have not been well-explored. Thus, we hypothesized that the pro-inflammatory cytokine tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-alpha) could be a mediator involved in dental pulp cell differentiation toward an odontoblastic phenotype. We observed that TNF-alpha-challenged pulp cells exhibited increased mineralization and early and increased expression of dentin phosphoprotein (DPP), dentin sialoprotein (DSP), dentin matrix protein-1, and osteocalcin during a phase of reduced matrix metalloproteinase (MMP) expression. We investigated whether these events were related and found that p38, a mitogen-activated protein kinase, differentially regulated MMP-1 and DSP/DPP expression and mediated mineralization upon TNF-alpha treatment. These findings indicate that TNF-alpha stimulates differentiation of dental pulp cells toward an odontoblastic phenotype via p38, while negatively regulating MMP-1 expression.
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