Aim: To evaluate the effect of four tooth storage temperature-based methods on quality of RNA obtained from cells retrieved from human dental pulps and human pre-dentine.
Methodology: RNA was isolated from dental pulp tissue and from cells retrieved by scraping the pre-dentine of freshly extracted human third molars (n = 15) using TRIzol(®) reagent. Teeth were randomly assigned to the following temperature conditions: immediate RNA isolation after tooth extraction, liquid nitrogen (24 h), -80 °C (24 h), 20 °C (24 h) and 4 °C (6 h). RNA integrity was checked by the density of 28S and 18S ribosomal RNA. RT-PCR was used to analyse the expression of odontoblast makers (DSPP, DMP1 and MEPE) and the housekeeping gene GAPDH.
Results: All experimental conditions evaluated preserved RNA integrity. The three odontoblastic markers were amplified from the pulp tissue and from the cells associated with pre-dentine.
Conclusion: The four storage options allowed RNA isolation for RT-PCR analysis. These findings may facilitate the use of clinically derived human dental pulp and odontoblasts for endodontic research.
© 2011 International Endodontic Journal.