Department of Dentistry for Children and Disabled Persons, Hokkaido University Graduate School of Dental Medicine, Sapporo, Japan.
J Endod. 2011 May;37(5):637-41. doi: 10.1016/j.joen.2011.02.012. Epub 2011 Mar 22.
The purpose of this study was to evaluate the cytotoxicity of mineral trioxide aggregate (MTA) and its potential detoxification by an antioxidant amino acid, N-acetylcysteine (NAC).
Rat dental pulp cells extracted from rat maxillary incisors were directly cultured on MTA with or without NAC in culture medium. The number of cells and their spreading behavior were both assessed 24 hours after seeding. The intracellular levels of reactive oxygen species (ROS) and glutathione (GSH) were also assessed after 24 hours of culture.
The number of cells attached to MTA was 60% greater when NAC was added to the culture medium. In addition, the area and perimeter of the cells were found to be 2-fold greater in the culture containing NAC. Cells cultured on MTA alone showed large ROS concentrations, which disappeared when the medium was supplemented with NAC. The intracellular GSH level, however, increased 3.5-fold with NAC addition.
This study demonstrated that the presence of NAC in environments can substantially improve attachment and spreading behaviors of dental pulp cells on MTA. This biological effect was associated with an improvement in the cellular redox system by NAC and warrants further exploration of NAC for determining its therapeutic value in improving the biocompatibility of MTA.
本研究旨在评估矿化三氧化物凝聚体（MTA）的细胞毒性及其被抗氧化氨基酸 N-乙酰半胱氨酸（NAC）解毒的潜力。
从大鼠上颌切牙中提取大鼠牙髓细胞，直接在含有或不含有 NAC 的培养基中培养于 MTA 上。接种后 24 小时评估细胞数量及其扩展行为。培养 24 小时后还评估了细胞内活性氧（ROS）和谷胱甘肽（GSH）的水平。
当培养基中添加 NAC 时，附着在 MTA 上的细胞数量增加了 60%。此外，含有 NAC 的培养物中的细胞面积和周长增加了 2 倍。单独培养在 MTA 上的细胞显示出大量的 ROS 浓度，当培养基中添加 NAC 时，ROS 浓度消失。然而，细胞内 GSH 水平增加了 3.5 倍。
本研究表明，NAC 的存在可以显著改善牙髓细胞在 MTA 上的附着和扩展行为。这种生物学效应与 NAC 改善细胞氧化还原系统有关，值得进一步探索 NAC 以确定其在提高 MTA 生物相容性方面的治疗价值。
