Effect of Bone morphogenetic protein-2 and Dexamethasone on mineralization capability of rat dental follicle cells

Objective: The present study was conducted to investigate the combined effect of bone morphogenetic protein-2(BMP-2) and dexamethasone(Dex) on the proliferation and differentiation of RDFCs.Methods: The third passage RDFCs were induced by BMP-2(100ng/ml),Dex(10-8mol/ml) and a mixture of BMP-2(100ng/ml) and Dex(10-8mol/ml) in DMEM,respectively.After 7,14 days,differentiation of the attached cells were measured with alkaline phosphatase(ALP) activity measurement kit,and mineralization potential was studied by Alizarin Red staining.Results: The results showed that with treatment of BMP-2,Dex alone could promote the differentiation of RDFCs.Greater proliferation of RDFCs was found in combined treatment group at different time points compared with individual treatment groups.Treatment with Dex alone could also augment the expression of ALP.The above results suggested that BMP-2 and Dex could synergistically promote the differentiation of RDFCs into osteoblast.Conclusions: The exposure of Dex as well as BMP-2 to RDFCs with an appropriate concentration promoted osteogenic expression without reverse effects on cell proliferation,which indicated the great potential value in cell-based strategy of bone tissue engineering.