Mechanism by which polyetheretherketone, a novel oral restorative material, promotes the proliferation of dental pulp stem cells

doi:10.12307/2026.885

Abstract

Abstract: BACKGROUND: Polyetheretherketone, as a novel pulp capping material used in vital pulp therapy, can synergistically regulate the proliferation of dental pulp stem cells through its surface characteristics and released active components, but the specific mechanism remains unclear.
OBJECTIVE: To investigate the effect of polyetheretherketone on the proliferation of dental pulp stem cells and the related mechanisms.
METHODS: (1) Human dental pulp stem cells were isolated and cultured. Human dental pulp stem cells were cultured with different mass concentrations of polyetheretherketone [0 (control), 0.1, 1, 10 mg/mL] for 48 hours. Cell proliferation was detected by EdU staining and CCK-8 assay. The expression of extracellular signal-regulated kinase and phosphorylated extracellular signal-regulated kinase proteins was detected by western blot assay. Human dental pulp stem cells were cultured with 1 mg/mL polyetheretherketone for 0, 24, 48, 72, 96, and 120 hours. Cell proliferation was detected by CCK-8 assay. Human dental pulp stem cells were cultured with 0 (control) and 1 mg/mL polyetheretherketone for 48 hours. Cell cycle was detected by flow cytometry. (2) Human dental pulp stem cells were divided into three groups: control group (no intervention), polyetheretherketone group (1 mg/mL polyetheretherketone), and polyetheretherketone+U0126 group (1 mg/mL polyetheretherketone and 10 µmol/L extracellular signal-regulated kinase inhibitor U0126). After 48 hours of culture, cell proliferation was detected by EdU staining and CCK-8 assay. Cell cycle was detected by flow cytometry. The protein expression of extracellular signal-regulated kinase and phosphorylated extracellular signal-regulated kinase was detected by western blot assay.
RESULTS AND CONCLUSION: (1) The cell proliferation in the 1 mg/mL polyetheretherketone group was faster than that in the other three groups, and the expression of phosphorylated extracellular signal-regulated kinase protein was higher than that in the control group and the 0.1 mg/mL polyetheretherketone group. Therefore, 1 mg/mL polyetheretherketone was selected for subsequent experiments. Cell proliferation after 96 hours of culture with 1 mg/mL polyetheretherketone was faster than that after 24, 48, and 72 hours. The proportion of cells in the G0/G1 phase in the 1 mg/mL polyetheretherketone group was lower than that in the control group, and the proportion of cells in the S phase was higher than that in the control group. (2) Cell proliferation in the polyetheretherketone group was faster than that in the control group and the polyetheretherketone+U0126 group. The proportion of cells in the G0/G1 phase was lower in the polyetheretherketone group than in the control group and the polyetheretherketone+U0126 group, while the proportion of cells in the S phase and the expression of phosphorylated extracellular signal-regulated kinase protein were higher in the polyetheretherketone group than in the control group and the polyetheretherketone+U0126 group. (3) The results indicate that polyetheretherketone promotes dental pulp stem cell proliferation by activating the mitogen-activated protein kinase/extracellular signal-regulated kinase signaling pathway.

Key words: novel oral restorative materials, polyetheretherketone, MAPK/ERK signaling pathway, dental pulp stem cells, cell proliferation, cell cycle

CLC Number:

Wu Lin, Lu Tong. Mechanism by which polyetheretherketone, a novel oral restorative material, promotes the proliferation of dental pulp stem cells[J]. Chinese Journal of Tissue Engineering Research, 2026, 30(32): 8345-8351.

Figures/Tables 4

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