In vitro inflammatory modulation of bioceramic endodontic sealer in macrophages stimulated by bacterial lipopolysaccharide.

ABSTRACT

AIM: To evaluate the effects of AH Plus (Dentsply), Sealer 26 (Dentsply), and Sealer Plus BC (Produtos Médicos e Odontológicos) on cytotoxicity and inflammation in macrophage cultures exposed to bacterial lipopolysaccharide (LPS). METHODOLOGY: After initial setting, the sealers were conditioned with serum-free culture medium for 24 h (1 ml/cm2 ). Macrophages from the RAW 264.7 strain were exposed to sealer extracts in a 116 ratio in a culture medium with or without LPS. Cell morphology, viability, mitochondrial activity, oxidative stress and gene expression of interleukin 1ß (IL-1ß) and tumour necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-α) were evaluated. Data on mitochondrial activity, oxidative stress and TNF-α were analysed using a two-way analysis of variance (anova) test, followed by the Student-Newman-Keuls post-test. IL-1ß data were analysed using one-way anova, followed by SNK, and the t-test was used for intragroup comparison. The significance level was set at 5%. RESULTS: In the absence of LPS, only AH Plus and Sealer 26 showed a reduction in cell density, while in the presence of LPS, Sealer 26 had the lowest density compared to the other groups. In terms of mitochondrial activity, at 24 and 48 h, Sealer Plus BC had significantly higher mean values than Sealer 26 and AH Plus (p < .05). Sealer 26 exhibited the lowest levels of oxidative stress and IL-1ß and TNF-α expression, regardless of the presence of LPS (p < .05). CONCLUSIONS: Although all sealers interfere with the response of macrophages to LPS, contact with epoxy resin-based sealers can impair cell activity in vitro, while bioceramic sealer seems to favour the inflammatory functions of these cells.