Effect of Dycal, MTA and Emdogain on proliferation and differentiation of human tooth germ stem cells

Biocompatibility of pulp capping materials is of very significance in order to accomplish a successful treatment meaning they have to be nontoxic, permissive to proliferation and inductive for odontogenic differentiation of pulp cells. Mineral trioxide aggregate (MTA) and calcium hydroxide-containing cement (DYCAL) are being used as pulp capping materials for many years but there are still some imperfections in use of these materials as they cause necrosis or inhibition of differentiation of pulp cells. On the other hand, an acid extract of porcine enamel matrix protein (EMD) has been shown to increase proliferation and differentiation of various dental cells including dental pulp and periodontal ligament cells. Recent studies demonstrated that the use MTA combined with EMD might be much more effective in inducing odontogenic differentiation of dental pulps cells compared to the use of MTA only. In clinical use, pulp capping materials are in direct contact with dental pulp cells is a phenomenon that must be considered when the cell and material interaction is investigated. Therefore, this study aimed to evaluate the effects of EMD, MTA and DYCAL on odontogenic differentiation of human tooth germ stem cells (HTGSCs) directly cultured on the materials. It also tried to show if EMD coated MTA and DYCAL surfaces give rise to better proliferation and differentiation of cells. As our EMD coating protocol changed physical properties of MTA we were not able to assess efficiency of the EMD coated MTA on cell proliferation and differentiation. The results showed that EMD is the best among the tested materials in terms of inducing differentiation and proliferation on the other hand DYCAL coated with EMD might be an alternative method to prevent cell necrosis in use of DYCAL alone.