[Establishment of a model of endoplasmic reticulum stress response in dental pulp cells induced by tunicamycin].

ABSTRACT

PURPOSE: The aim of this study was to establish a model of endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress in dental pulp cells(DPCs) induced by tunicamycin to better understand the molecular mechanism of DPCs related diseases mediated by ER stress. METHODS: DPCs were cultured using modified tissue explant technique in vitro and cultured in presence or absence of tunicamycin. DPCs' viability was measured by methylthiazol tetrazolium (MTT) assay. The mRNA level of ER stress markers was examined by RT-PCR. The data were analyzed with SPSS17.0 software package. RESULTS: The proliferative ability of DPCs decreased when exposed to tunicamycin in a dose-dependent manner. Treatment with tunicamycin resulted in up-regulation of ER stress genes, such as splicing x-box binding protein-1(sXBP1), activating transcription factor 4(ATF4), glucose-regulated protein 78(GRP78) and C/EBP homologous protein (CHOP). CONCLUSIONS: The results indicate that ER stress response is induced in DPCs by tunicamycin, and the ER stress model is successfully established.