This study modified glass ionomer cement (GIC) by adding mimicked biological molecules to reduce cell death. GIC was modified to BIOGIC by adding chitosan and bovine serum albumin for enhancing protein release. The BIOGIC was supplemented with tricalcium phosphate (TCP) and recombinant translationally controlled tumor protein (TCTP) to improve its biological properties. Four groups of materials, GIC, BIOGIC, BIOGIC+TCP, and BIOGIC + TCP + TCTP, were examined by XRD and SEM-EDX. TCTP released from the specimens was determined by an ELISA method. Human dental pulp stem cells (hDPSCs) were harvested and analyzed by MTT assay, apoptosis, gene expression, and cell differentiation. All groups had the same crystallization characteristic peaks of La2O3. The elemental compositions composed of La, Si, and Al are the main inorganic components. The results show that BIOGIC + TCP + TCTP presented significantly higher percentages of cell viability than other groups on day 1 to day 23 (p < 0.05), but were not different after day 24 to day 41 and had reduced cell apoptosis including BAX, TPT1, BCL-2, and Caspase-3. The BIOGIC + TCP + TCTP demonstrated higher odontoblast mineralization and differentiation markers including ALP activity, DSPP, DMP-1, ALP, BMP-2, and OPN. It enhanced cell proliferation and differentiation as well as mineralization with down-regulation of genes related to apoptosis compared with other groups.
Keywords: glass ionomer cement; human dental pulp stem cells; regenerative; translationally controlled protein; tricalcium phosphate.