Irreversible but not reversible pulpitis is associated with up-regulation of tumour necrosis factor-alpha gene expression in human pulp

Aim  To analyse the gene expression of tumour necrosis factor‐alpha (TNF‐α) in human dental pulps, under normal and inflammatory conditions and to examine the association between any observed alterations in the expression of this cytokine with the severity of the clinical symptoms. Methodology  Eigh...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:International endodontic journal 2007-03, Vol.40 (3), p.198-203
Main Authors: Kokkas, A. B., Goulas, A., Varsamidis, K., Mirtsou, V., Tziafas, D.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Adolescent
Adult
Case-Control Studies
Dental Pulp - chemistry
Dentistry
human pulps
Humans
irreversible pulpitis
Pulpitis - genetics
Pulpitis - pathology
Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction
reversible pulpitis
RNA, Messenger - analysis
Statistics, Nonparametric
Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha - analysis
Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha - biosynthesis
Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha - genetics
tumour necrosis factor-alpha
Up-Regulation
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Summary:Aim  To analyse the gene expression of tumour necrosis factor‐alpha (TNF‐α) in human dental pulps, under normal and inflammatory conditions and to examine the association between any observed alterations in the expression of this cytokine with the severity of the clinical symptoms. Methodology  Eighteen pulpal samples were obtained from single‐rooted human teeth. Six of the teeth were normal (group A), six had been diagnosed with reversible pulpitis (group B), and the remaining six were from teeth diagnosed with irreversible pulpitis (group C). TNF‐α gene expression was semi‐quantitatively analysed in each sample with RT‐PCR, and the results from each group of teeth were compared with the Kruskal–Wallis and Mann–Whitney tests. Results  Tumour necrosis factor‐alpha was detected in all three groups of dental pulp. Statistical analysis provided evidence of a significant increase of TNF‐α gene expression associated with irreversible inflammation compared with healthy controls (P = 0.002). No such difference was detected in reversibly inflamed pulp in comparison to healthy teeth (P = 0.699). Conclusion  Tumour necrosis factor‐alpha gene expression in inflamed human dental pulp tissue is positively associated with the severity of clinical symptoms.
ISSN:0143-2885
1365-2591
DOI:10.1111/j.1365-2591.2007.01215.x