Dentin bonding agents induce c-fos and c-jun protooncogenes expression in human gingival fibroblasts

An important requirement for a dentin bonding agent is biologic compatibility; the bonding agent usually remains in close contact with living dental tissues over a long period of time. Information on the genotoxicity/mutagenicity and cacinogenicity potentials of dentin bonding agents is rare. It has been shown that c-fos and c-jun are induced rapidly by a variety of chemical and physical stimuli. Little is known about the induction of cellular signaling events and specific gene expression after cell exposure to dentin bonding agents. Therefore, we used primary human gingival fibroblasts to examine the effect of six dentin bonding agents on the expression of c-fos and c-jun protooncogenes to evaluate the genotoxicity/mutagenicity and cacinogenicity potential of the dentin bonding agents. The levels of mRNA were measured by the quantitative RT-PCR analysis. c-fos and c-jun mRNA expression in dentin bonding agents-treated cells revealed a rapid accumulation of the transcript, a significant signal first was detectable after 1 h of exposure. Persistent induction of c-jun and c-fos protooncogenes by dentine bonding agents may distribute systemically to cause some unexpected adverse effects on human beings. It would be necessary to identify the severely toxic compounds and replace these substances by better biocompatible components. Otherwise, leaching of those genotoxicity/mutagenicity and cacinogenicity components must be minimized or prevented. (C) 2002 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.