Functional aspects (mineralized nodule formation and alkaline phosphatase activity) related to bacterial LPS on dental pulp stem cells

Abstract

The discovery of dental pulp stem cells brought new insights on the participation of these cells in the repair process. It is well known that bacterial products have direct effect on the activation of the inflammatory process in the dental pulp; in addition, it is believed that these stem cells in the pulp would be recruited during the inflammation process to participate in the repair, differentiating and producing mineralized tissue. Thus, the purpose of this study was to evaluate the functional mechanisms of repair induced by bacterial products (lipopolysaccharide from E. coli, LPS), on dental pulp stem cells. The functional processes of mineralization will be assessed by the quantification of alkaline phosphatase activity (ALP) after 7 days in culture, as well as by the observation of mineralized nodules on the alizarin red assay, in periods of 1, 7 and 14 days.