Stimulation of the rat dentine–pulp complex by bone morphogenetic protein-7 in vitro

Human recombinant bone morphogenetic protein-7 (BMP-7), when applied to freshly cut dentine in monkey teeth, stimulated tertiary dentine formation, but it is unclear whether this response involved upregulation of the synthetic and secretory activity of existing odontoblasts or the induction of differentiation of new odontoblast-like cells. Using a recently developed organ-culture system for whole tooth slices, the aim here was to examine the effects of BMP-7 on the stimulation and modulation of existing odontoblasts in the absence of tissue injury. Agarose beads were soaked in a 500 ng/ml or 100 ng/ml solution of BMP-7 in culture medium and placed on the odontoblast area of the dentine–pulp complex of rat tooth slices. The slices were embedded in a semisolid agar-based medium and cultured at the liquid–gas interface for 7 days. Results showed that beads soaked in 500 ng/ml BMP-7 stimulated a localized increase in extracellular matrix secretion by odontoblasts at the site of application, with greater stimulatory effects than from the lower concentration. These effects may be important in the reparative processes after tissue injury within the dentine–pulp complex and may be useful in the therapeutic induction of tertiary dentinogenesis.