Effect of bioaggregate on mineral-associated gene expression in osteoblast cells.

INTRODUCTION This study investigated the cytotoxicity of bioaggregate (BA) and the effect of BA on mineral associated gene expression in osteoblast cells. METHODS The cytotoxicity of BA to mouse MC3T3-E1 osteoblast cells was evaluated via the 3-(4,5-Dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide (MTT) assay after 1, 2, and 3 days of culture. The expression of mineral associated genes (collagen type 1, osteocalcin, and osteopontin) was assessed by quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR) and compared expression after exposure to BA or mineral trioxide aggregate (MTA). The data were analyzed by one-way analysis of variance and the Tukey test. RESULTS BA was essentially nontoxic to osteoblast cells. The expression of collagen type 1, osteocalcin, and osteopontin genes significantly increased in the BA group compared with that in the MTA group on the second or third day of culture. CONCLUSION BA appears to be a novel nontoxic root-end filling biomaterial and be able to induce mineralization-associated gene expression in osteoblast cells.